Dhoni rues top-order failure

India had their second successive top-order batting collapse but unlike the first ODI in Chennai, where their lower order came to the rescue, Pakistan's bowlers didn't give the hosts a second chance and completed a big win to take the series.

MS Dhoni rued the failure of his batsmen after the bowlers had brought India back into the match. Pakistan had appeared set for a huge total after a 141-run opening stand, but India's bowlers struck regularly in the second half of the innings to limit their target to 251.

India's openers made an edgy start, but were still in the middle by the 10th over and had put up 42 on the board. However, just like the previous game, a wicket opened the floodgates and the team was reduced to 95 for 5 in 26 overs. There were no lower-order stands of note this time and while Dhoni stayed unbeaten, the team was all out for 165.

"Last 30 overs we needed 180, so if you put 100 off 20, then you can get 80-90 off last 10 with five fielders inside the circle," Dhoni said. "But the key is to have wickets in hand and we never were in a position.

"Virat [Kohli] has scored runs for us, but one of the top three needs to play with the middle order, that will make it easy, not that they aren't trying, but it happens."

The batting failures in the two matches have meant that India have neither been able to put up a competitive total nor be in a position to chase one down. Dhoni said there was experience in the batting but all have struggled to find form on tracks that have helped bowlers but also rewarded batsmen who showed patience.

"The bowlers brought us back into the game," Dhoni said. "The spinners in the second half of the first innings bowled well and the faster bowlers made most of the bounce available off the pitch. But when we went into bat, we lost too many wickets."

"Initially there was something for fast bowlers, then it became flat, but there was something for the spinners. There was turn in the first as well as second innings, but after 25th over the ball started doing a bit for the faster bowlers, even with the old ball. So there was everything for everyone. There were runs for batsmen too. It was a good ODI wicket."

Dhoni also conceded that the team was finding it difficult to win matches with part-time bowlers in view of the amended ODI rules which stipulate five fielders inside the circle for full 50 overs.

"We are used to play with part-timers. Now it's difficult for part-timers to bowl with five players inside the circle. If there's dew, then you don't get turn as well. With the new rules, you've to assess whether six batsmen are enough or seven."

"What we're looking at is somebody who can fill in the gap -- a genuine allrounder to bring in the balance in the side. Lower-order contribution is also very important especially when you're chasing."

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, said a total of 300 was on the cards after the platform Pakistan openers had set but the pitch was not an easy one to score on, especially for new batsmen. He, however, praised the bowling attack for another efficient performance.

"The bowlers are really doing a great job, especially Junaid who is moving it both ways and asking questions of the batsmen," Misbah said. "Irfan has his height, Gul also bowled well today, and Ajmal and Hafeez always deliver for us.

"We have the edge in the quality of our bowling. Indian batsmen are struggling for quite a long time. But I think our bowlers exploited the conditions better. Normally we get flat pitches here in India. But both the pitches - in Chennai and Kolkata - were challenging for batsmen," he said.

Misbah also singled out Nasir Jamshed for special praise and said the batsman has matured well during the tour.

I think the rotation policy India tries is completely wrong. They play an inexperienced player for one or two games and if he does not perform he will be thrown out and another inexperienced will be tried out. This is COMPLETELY wrong. They need to rest their senior players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj etc keeping the seniors to be a minimum and then give chance to youngsters in as many games as possible. Since the series is lost already my suggestion is to try out as many youngsters as possible in the next game. My eleven would be:

Guys lets look at things in the right perspective instead of being emotional and upset. True as a passionate Indian Cricket fan I also feel upset over our teams dismal performances. The hard fact is Indian Cricket is in bad shape since we toured England last year. We have lost 8 test matches in a row and a home series against England. Have there been any major changes, major reviews by the board? None whatsoever. Bhajji was dropped after the England debacle Dravid and Laxman retired after the Australia tour. Other than that we have been playing mostly the same batting line up. Guys like Rahane, Tiwary and Chand are raw but atleast one could give them a chance. Bowling resources are a major worry I really dont understand Dhonis reluctance to try newcomers like Shami Ahmed in fact Aaron Varun didnt play a single ODI in the England tour when he was fit and raring. Dhoni prefers Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Jadeja,Chawla thats where I think he is wrong.

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 5, 2013, 20:10 GMT

Any captain who survives 10 consecutive/disgraceful test thrashings,shameful loss to BD in Asia Cup,failing to qualify for Oz tri-series finals despite herculean rescue efforts time and time again by Kohli & in Asia Cup.Failing to qualify for WT20 despite it being his favorite format & finally getting smashed at home by Pakistan.This MSD is one lucky man,in fact he's the definition of luck.His explanation for all those losses: 1.Its OK,losses are part of the game 2.Excuses: Pitch,toss,climate,lack of bowlers/all-rounders 3. Lately,the new cop out 'team in transition' Sorry but what transition- Sehwag,Gambhir,Raina,Yuvraj,Kohli& Dhoni ;6 of 7 from WC winning team stays and he says transition WTH? Oh may be the bowlers huh? In any case,isn't Pakistan too in transition Mr.Captain fool? And why are they winning,there are some words called passion,hunger & freshness that you seemed to have forgotten..Get him out please and save Ind cricket.

Players like Gambhir,dhoni,jadeja,dinda hav got more chance..they shud dropped...also fletcher is big factor of indian performance...in a day...u cant get out all the player at a time...these four is more responsible...

POSTED BY
on | January 5, 2013, 8:32 GMT

I m a big sehwag fan and want him to perform and be in india team... but given the current situation india has lost the plot and are very vulnerable to pak pace attack.. As series is already lost india should try and field in form players and try to win ... i suppose team as per their batting order..

trust me this team has ability to win... we can also change ghambir with m.vijay...

POSTED BY
imja
on | January 5, 2013, 8:19 GMT

Dhoni is nothing but a coward. If the pitch or the bowling attack is good he always bat down the under and when the pitch is batting friendly or the bowling is not good he bats higher up the order.

POSTED BY
guppys_classmate
on | January 5, 2013, 6:36 GMT

Drop Sehwag & Gambhir. Kick off Jadeja & Rohit Sharma... Open with Rahane & Ashwin instead. Give that lad Manoj Tiwary a chance. What else does Tiwary need to do? And a consistent performer in Ranji like Badrinath is given just 7 ODI's and 2 Tests (in one of them he scores a 50 against SA in SA)..

POSTED BY
Johnny_129
on | January 5, 2013, 4:56 GMT

I know.....IT'S TENDULKAR'S FAULT!!! Ha Ha hahahhahahahahahah.

Where are all the Tendulkar haters now - Bet we could have done with one of his 'match losing hundreds'!!!

POSTED BY
Ghummann67
on | January 5, 2013, 4:34 GMT

Hi Guys! Don't be emotional. Time comes when you face failures. It is time to compose yourself. Review your plans. Look for the available alternatives. A strategic retreat is the key to ultimate success. Alex Thomas is suggesting pain relievers. However, need of the hour demands a drastic surgery. Let remove the assets which has become liability. No one is larger than the national interest. Change is the essence of resurgence. Old order must be replaced by new one. If we continurd sticking to bitten bats and rotten bowls, I see no ray of hope in near future. But if India resort to accept change She can overpower the genie of debacles looming large on Indian Team right now. Close chapters of Dhoni and Co and bring out a whole new Face of Indian Cricket Team.Simply because a deat at home is a kind of Black wash at the hands of Pakistan.

POSTED BY
ListenToMe
on | January 4, 2013, 7:46 GMT

I think the rotation policy India tries is completely wrong. They play an inexperienced player for one or two games and if he does not perform he will be thrown out and another inexperienced will be tried out. This is COMPLETELY wrong. They need to rest their senior players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj etc keeping the seniors to be a minimum and then give chance to youngsters in as many games as possible. Since the series is lost already my suggestion is to try out as many youngsters as possible in the next game. My eleven would be:

Guys lets look at things in the right perspective instead of being emotional and upset. True as a passionate Indian Cricket fan I also feel upset over our teams dismal performances. The hard fact is Indian Cricket is in bad shape since we toured England last year. We have lost 8 test matches in a row and a home series against England. Have there been any major changes, major reviews by the board? None whatsoever. Bhajji was dropped after the England debacle Dravid and Laxman retired after the Australia tour. Other than that we have been playing mostly the same batting line up. Guys like Rahane, Tiwary and Chand are raw but atleast one could give them a chance. Bowling resources are a major worry I really dont understand Dhonis reluctance to try newcomers like Shami Ahmed in fact Aaron Varun didnt play a single ODI in the England tour when he was fit and raring. Dhoni prefers Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Jadeja,Chawla thats where I think he is wrong.

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 5, 2013, 20:10 GMT

Any captain who survives 10 consecutive/disgraceful test thrashings,shameful loss to BD in Asia Cup,failing to qualify for Oz tri-series finals despite herculean rescue efforts time and time again by Kohli & in Asia Cup.Failing to qualify for WT20 despite it being his favorite format & finally getting smashed at home by Pakistan.This MSD is one lucky man,in fact he's the definition of luck.His explanation for all those losses: 1.Its OK,losses are part of the game 2.Excuses: Pitch,toss,climate,lack of bowlers/all-rounders 3. Lately,the new cop out 'team in transition' Sorry but what transition- Sehwag,Gambhir,Raina,Yuvraj,Kohli& Dhoni ;6 of 7 from WC winning team stays and he says transition WTH? Oh may be the bowlers huh? In any case,isn't Pakistan too in transition Mr.Captain fool? And why are they winning,there are some words called passion,hunger & freshness that you seemed to have forgotten..Get him out please and save Ind cricket.

Players like Gambhir,dhoni,jadeja,dinda hav got more chance..they shud dropped...also fletcher is big factor of indian performance...in a day...u cant get out all the player at a time...these four is more responsible...

POSTED BY
on | January 5, 2013, 8:32 GMT

I m a big sehwag fan and want him to perform and be in india team... but given the current situation india has lost the plot and are very vulnerable to pak pace attack.. As series is already lost india should try and field in form players and try to win ... i suppose team as per their batting order..

trust me this team has ability to win... we can also change ghambir with m.vijay...

POSTED BY
imja
on | January 5, 2013, 8:19 GMT

Dhoni is nothing but a coward. If the pitch or the bowling attack is good he always bat down the under and when the pitch is batting friendly or the bowling is not good he bats higher up the order.

POSTED BY
guppys_classmate
on | January 5, 2013, 6:36 GMT

Drop Sehwag & Gambhir. Kick off Jadeja & Rohit Sharma... Open with Rahane & Ashwin instead. Give that lad Manoj Tiwary a chance. What else does Tiwary need to do? And a consistent performer in Ranji like Badrinath is given just 7 ODI's and 2 Tests (in one of them he scores a 50 against SA in SA)..

POSTED BY
Johnny_129
on | January 5, 2013, 4:56 GMT

I know.....IT'S TENDULKAR'S FAULT!!! Ha Ha hahahhahahahahahah.

Where are all the Tendulkar haters now - Bet we could have done with one of his 'match losing hundreds'!!!

POSTED BY
Ghummann67
on | January 5, 2013, 4:34 GMT

Hi Guys! Don't be emotional. Time comes when you face failures. It is time to compose yourself. Review your plans. Look for the available alternatives. A strategic retreat is the key to ultimate success. Alex Thomas is suggesting pain relievers. However, need of the hour demands a drastic surgery. Let remove the assets which has become liability. No one is larger than the national interest. Change is the essence of resurgence. Old order must be replaced by new one. If we continurd sticking to bitten bats and rotten bowls, I see no ray of hope in near future. But if India resort to accept change She can overpower the genie of debacles looming large on Indian Team right now. Close chapters of Dhoni and Co and bring out a whole new Face of Indian Cricket Team.Simply because a deat at home is a kind of Black wash at the hands of Pakistan.

POSTED BY
on | January 5, 2013, 3:21 GMT

Its good the curry team lost.I am happy with the result.Well done Pakistan.WC win was fluke and everyone knows that.I dont have time to write about this foolish Indian team and the BCCI. Out of 1.21 billion people we cant find 11 good players. Hahahah what good example we can find of the corrupted nature of the country and its people??I am glad I left India and an OZ citizen now.I can whole-hartdly support the champion Ozzies.I am looking forward for another white wash to the curry team under the hands of Oz now in curry land.

POSTED BY
KiwiRocker-
on | January 5, 2013, 3:16 GMT

I have never been a fan of Sehwag as he is a batsman with minimum footwork and technique and has managed to score easy runs on easy wickets. Having said that, his record against likes of Pakistan has been excellent. In 2004, Pakistan had two of their star champion bowlers Wasim And Waqar at end of their career and I recall in centurion, likes of Sehwag and Tendulya attacked them. It was utter shame because Tendulya never faced those two bowlers in their prime. Now when I see this current series, it seems roles have reversed. As a Pakistani fan, you can not help but to smile when you see. V.Sehwag and Gambhir coming to open the innings. V.Sehwag looks a very ordinary batsman against Pakistan's new bowling pair. He is pretty much a walking wicket. Gambhir is no better. More surprisingly, V Kohli has come down crashing to the earth. This chat had scored few centuries again on flat Indian wickets and was letting his mouth talk rather than bat! Welcome back...Pakistan just humiliated you!

POSTED BY
Jaggadaaku
on | January 5, 2013, 1:05 GMT

It is even worthless spending time to write a comment for Indian team these days. Always bringing down with the same failed cricketers.....never give a chance to someone else. These all batsmen-Raina, Yuvi, Gambhir, M. Vijay, Sehwag, Dhoni, A. Rahane, A. Mukund, I. Pathan, R. Jadeja, and bowlers-Dinda, B. Kumar, Z. Khan, I. Sharma, Harbhajan, P. Ojha, R. Ashwin, P.Kumar, already got the enough chances. But whenever the current team doesn't perform well, the selectors will keep selecting from this list. India have 27 local teams, but looks like the selectors don't want to work and select someone else. There is an essay I have about Indian team, and the selectors view, but like I said earlier-It is worthless to say anything. I don't know why in every match, the each of the grounds are full with fans and supporters beside their team is playing like Canadian team against South Africa. Crazy people.

POSTED BY
samvarma
on | January 5, 2013, 0:16 GMT

Llike almost everything in India at the moment, it is high time for change in the way Indian cricket is being run. We need administrators with a love for the game who can make the drastic changes for the betterment of Indian cricket. Currently its just 'business' and it is ruining the quality of the sport.

POSTED BY
Al_Bundy1
on | January 4, 2013, 22:08 GMT

Like I said b4 - DROP THEM ALL, except Dhoni. Play the India A team instead of current team. What's the worst thing that can happen? We will lose again. But we are losing anyway!! If Indian Selectors don't have the guts to drop Gambhir and Sehwag, Dhoni should do it. Open with Rahane and Ashwin and give a chance to remaining bench warmers like Shami Ahmed.

POSTED BY
leslie_alo
on | January 4, 2013, 20:55 GMT

Reason for the failures:
1) Players no longer playing first class, so they lost skill to stay in crease. People who play first class (like Ranji) still will survive.

2) Ranji is played still in feather bed pitches where ball will not turn or bounce, hence no encouragement for pace bowlers - they just tend to wear out

4) Indians still are under white rule and forget that Indian coaches would've given better results

5) New 2 bouncer rule will hit our super star icon batsmen since they no dont have bowlers who bowl bouncers even in practice

6) No bowler is able to bowl yorker at will with perfection as compared to other countries

Bet, every Indian fan knows these reasons..!

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 20:48 GMT

what surprising is when u listen to shastri and mr gavaskar its seems they are watching different team,they dont say a single word against bad performing players and tean infact they say thing stupids things,shastri said india is in transition ,excuse me . indian batting is certainly not. guys like ghambir,sehwag,raina,yuvraj,dhoni rohit, they are playing for like 4 to 5 years now, some of them for even more.probaly bowling is suffering as they r missing first choice bowlers . these 2 have lost lot of repect as thay are paid bcci employee, love to listen dada and dravid,two great intellectuals players ,very neutral talks lots of sense.A pakistani fan

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 19:02 GMT

we desperately need to play an odi series against Zimbabwe in India to have some hope... somebody said bangladesh but no they are strong compared to us, they might whitewash us pls do something to see us win...

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 18:43 GMT

India should play with minor team like Zimbabwe, Ireland,Kenya for improving their team performance then play with big team like Bangladesh Australia England etc.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 18:15 GMT

Suprising that Mr.Blame master realised that captain could do nothing if the batsmen fails.Just a few days b4 the same Dhoni was mentioning after a humiliating home test series loss against england,that the loss was not bigger than '07 wc loss against bangladesh.Obviously he was trying to find some solace,by unnecessarily bringing the wc loss,totally out of context,after loosing a string of test series,including home test series.Why cant he take the blame and introspect on his failures ,rather than trying to find some excuses after every humiliating loss?Its better if he can stop comparing himself/his losses by bringing in earlier losess.He himself has lost againt bangladesh ,that too in india in asia cup.So better not point fingers @others ,before u clean up urself.
Dhoni is in test team,jus becz hes captain,not as a batsman or wc.This is right time to relinquish him of the test and odi captaincy and restrict him to t20 ,if he does not does it gracefully,selectors should take that cal

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 18:09 GMT

Dhoni is wearing Misbah's shoes it seems. When wickets kept falling around Misbah in WC semi final, he scored slow and tried not to get out. Pakistan lost the match, because the other 10 failed miserably, but Misbah got blamed for losing the match because he didn't play like an idiot. Similarly, Dhoni gets to the middle while wickets were falling left and right, he played slowly and tried to bat sensibly. India lost the match, and now everyone blames Dhoni for losing.

POSTED BY
PkRules
on | January 4, 2013, 17:50 GMT

There is only one thing that Indian team has to change and that is their attitude. They need to embrace defeat and learn from it, instead of coming up with excuses. There have been nothing but excuses since the 4-0 loss against Aussies. It is either the pitch, the conditions, the toss, the dew factor, the poor umpiring, or something else. If they want to change things, they need to start to take responsibility and own the failures as equally as they do success.

POSTED BY
DepressedIndianFan
on | January 4, 2013, 17:49 GMT

Am I the only one, or are we all getting tired of Dhoni making, now fairly regular, utterly inane, factually correct but completely useless statements that seem painfully obvious to anyone who has followed the game? It's almost as if, in his mind, he thinks if he simply narrates some key points of the game (as if the foolish fans had no clue till he pointed them out) then he is off the hook and can move on to the next game with a clear conscience. I admire Dhoni for many of his qualities - poise under pressure, lead by example, tremendous faith in his own abilities, not to mention his superb closing skills - and we need more leaders like him in India today in every domain. But, just like the CEO of a failing company, Dhoni must realize that the buck indeed stops here, he must take responsibility for the team's consistent failures, and unless he can quickly come up with some meaningful, actionable, fresh ideas, he must step aside as a skipper and he should do that of his own volition.

POSTED BY
immi2711
on | January 4, 2013, 17:35 GMT

There are some pretty knowledgeable guys in this commentary.... Are you all blind? For the last 4-6 months, India has constantly been playing games one after another without sufficient break. Offcourse majority of your players are burnt out. None of you see this, most of all BCCI does not see this. You can see the tiredness in the guys face. There is no shortage of players in India, surely you can find more players. There is NOTHING WRONG with DHONI...believe me, this is coming from a PAKISTANI supporter. On any other day, India will win majority of the games against Pakistan. Pakistan players still playing solo matches (for themselves), Inidans I see play as a team.....Give them a break, realy some good rest and you will see a different team

POSTED BY
Raj12345
on | January 4, 2013, 17:32 GMT

funny.
When Dhoni want to include RA, then he says I am looking for all rounder and when he want to include RG, then he says I am looking for 7 batsman.

It is not question of all rounder or 7th batsman, change your team, you will win. Throw Gambhir, Shewag, RG, RA & Yuvi from team then win is your way. Build new team, the current craps good for nothing. 8 home away test loss and home test loss, ODIs failures..etc etc. what is use of keeping big starts in team.

POSTED BY
QingdaoXI
on | January 4, 2013, 16:45 GMT

Whenever Jadeja Plays India mostly lose the match its proved record, eother jadeja is in team or squad he is been unlucky for India, Drop him for good of India, he is big non-performer and About Rohit give him last chance vs England in all odis at number 4 position if he fails, than dump him forever for ODIs. For re-builidng we need thus guys in Indian team Rahane, Kohli, Pujara, Rohit, Yuvraj, Raina(As ICC as allowed 2 boucers in over his ODI carrer will be soon over as his test carrier)/Irfan, Dhoni, Ashwin, Abdulla, Yadav, Aaron, Sub: Rayudu, Shami, B.Kumar, Chand.

POSTED BY
vathabivaranan
on | January 4, 2013, 16:41 GMT

neither the indian team trying to play its potential nor the selectors dont know how to get away with non performers who have match after match shown consistency in not performing even in their own soil. one thing is better understood by the players that if they perform above average in one match, their position in the team is assured for another six match failures. The funniest thing is when the main team performs below average, selectors select another A team to play against Eng Team!Thanks to the introduction of IPL all players earned enough money and more in the days to come and how one can expect patriotism.

POSTED BY
Al_Bundy1
on | January 4, 2013, 16:22 GMT

I have been saying this all along - India's biggest problem is batting. Just look at the last 2 ODI. Our bowlers did a decent job containing the Pakistani batsmen, but our batsmen let us down. Sehwag and Gambhir are flat track bullies - Get rid of them ASAP. Bring in Rahane and Jaffer. Kohli seems to be going Sreesanth way - loads of talent, but wrong attitude. Replace Kohli with Pujara - he has talent and a stable head on his shoulders. Give a chance to upcoming fast bowlers like Shami, Ishwar, Imtiaz Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, etc. Try promising spinners like Nadeem. Put a rotation policy in place, like Australia and SA.

POSTED BY
lonewarriorram
on | January 4, 2013, 15:59 GMT

Even after loosing the series expect the same 11 taking the field in blue or "the best batsman in nets" into playing 11 to strenghten the batting. Poor bloke Rahane will be benched again. Dhoni certainly not judging his players based on current form.

POSTED BY
huntingmay
on | January 4, 2013, 15:47 GMT

Yes, Mr. Dhoni the top order failed. It has failed a lot lately. So, the question is 'What are you going to do about it?'

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 4, 2013, 15:36 GMT

Although many players in this team need to go since they have been part of humiliating thrashings in he last 18 months,the problem IS Dhoni.When in form,why not cover for youngsters who are failing instead of coming at 7 and improving his average and everything is lost?? He is listless on the field,spineless when it comes to selection,gutless when it comes to drastic changes on & off-field.Players to go ARE: Gambhir,Sehwag,Yuvraj & Raina .Players to be brought in :Rahane,Unmukt,Pujara & Tiwary(when fit).Rohit should stay as he's been coming at 7 when everything is lost or when he had to hit out.This team with Kohli as captain can STILL win : Rahane| Unmukt| Kohli(C)| Pujara| Rohit| Tiwary| Dhoni| Ashwin| Bhuvi| Umesh| Ishant.As someone said,the current lot is jaded, demoralized,ridden with factional politics & always looking over shoulders.Time to gamble with fresh talent;its not that they are marginal players,they have all proved credentials in domestic cricket.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 15:27 GMT

Can we please arrange a six month holiday for Duncan Fletcher, his Fielding Asst, his Bowling Asst, Sehwag & Gambhir ... to Alaska. While they are there, they can develop a local team and play against them. And, in Alaska's cold, legs don't move; and that suits these five guys well. Even in warm India, their legs don't move! (Gambhir's legs used to dance down the pitch, to neutralize the swing of the pacers and turn of the spinners; but not any more. He is following his leader Sehwag)

POSTED BY
andrew27994
on | January 4, 2013, 15:23 GMT

It's funny to see so many Indian fans calling for Dhoni's sacking when in reality he has been India's most consistent batsman in this format. Also nobody seems to realise what an impact he makes in the middle order because he keeps the scoreboard ticking by running the quick 1s, 2s and 3s and even after a slow start almost all the time he makes up for it in the last 10 overs. Just because he is the losing captain doesn't mean that he hasn't shown the commitment to stay in the team and I do agree that he ought to praise the opposition team as well.
I just hope that all the reamining players in the squad who haven't got an opportunity would get one in the next match.

POSTED BY
Pubstar
on | January 4, 2013, 14:59 GMT

so much is said about the indian team, eat i want to add is dat after the worse ever lean patch od sewag and gambir dey will strike form in IPL.Bcos dat s cash rich and other players play dat as a league and not as a national game, so dese 2 can play better. as soon as ipl gets over 2 will back to der worse.
"I BET DES 2(GAMBIR AND SEHWAG) WILL PLAY WELL IN IPL ALONE"

POSTED BY
vadirajdagreat
on | January 4, 2013, 14:54 GMT

Biggest problem with Indian team is its selectors . Their Inability to take some strict decisions on non performing 'Super Stars' . Sehwag can score one more 200 in another 25 innings but do we have to bear 24 more failures and debacle to see that . Kick out the players who are not performing like Aus have done always may be its hayden ,gilchrist or ponting . No ,player will take his position granted and we have good playersin team not Super stars who twinkle in Blue moon.

Sadest thing about indian cricket is Fast bowling (we never produced one!!) and we nvr got replacements for Kumble and Srinath...Kumbles exit haunts every body even today :(

POSTED BY
adam_clone
on | January 4, 2013, 14:52 GMT

Funny thing not many people are admitting that this downturn started the moment Kirsten handed over his duties to Fletcher. Lord, wouldnt I love to see how fat his paycheck still is!

POSTED BY
adam_clone
on | January 4, 2013, 14:46 GMT

I wouldnt be suprised if he now said 'this wasn't as bad as the Test series loss to England'! What a shame. O'course BCCI doesnt care, as long as they can keep milking the IPL cow!!! Why isnt somebody doing something about this lack of any answerability?

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 14:38 GMT

Now its high time for india to consider to play Bangladesh in India. They should not fear for a face off

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 4, 2013, 14:35 GMT

Dhoni keeps saying he's ready to be the punching bag for the team.Why does not he act then? Resign from captaincy graciously from all formats.Agreed that Sehwag,Gambhir,Yuvraj&Raina have been pathetic and couple of them for very very long periods now.But the job of a captain is not to turn up for tosses and give excuses at the end of loss after loss.Dhoni as a captain has failed miserably in motivating youngsters,'communicating' with 'seniors' and optimize the team strengths.Captain cool was good enough when legends were around to bail his team out all the time.He's been spineless,gutless,awful spotter/selector of talents both in the squad of 15 and outside.His stubbornness to deny Rahane,Tiwary&Pathan chances and choosing his CSK folks has enormously hurt Ind cricket.Enough talent available both in batting & bowling.Its not that system has deteriorated between Ganguly era and Dhoni's period.In fact its better.So whats the difference? passion&aggression both lacking in MSD.

POSTED BY
Destroyer1732
on | January 4, 2013, 14:21 GMT

I do agree that Pakistan team played well but you should also take into consideration that the Indian team is totally out of form. I am waiting for Rahane to get a chance.

I am sure India will be back and will prove that they are the best.

Cat can look like a tiger once but the tiger will always remain a tiger :)

Hope its clear LeftBrain ;)

Cheers,
MJ

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 14:19 GMT

Amazing performance by India what a boost we have given to England Team :) Looking forward on how many changes are affected from now on!! We have proved now and then that we don't like to learn from our mistakes and Dhoni should realize that instead of having reasons he needs to show some consistent results if he really thinks that no one can replace him!!! and I think seriously we need another coach - Duncan may be good but not for India and he needs to go after world cup instead of rising we have fallen more and more and the team is nearly the same so it has to be the coach who is not suitable for the role - easiest decision as well for the board!! instead of replacing many players - replace one and trick is done :) BCCI here is the tip for you - if you implement it - please credit me on this :D

POSTED BY
medhasarkar
on | January 4, 2013, 14:19 GMT

Well...I hope Dhoni for a change will now realise how Sachin felt for 23 long years. When he was the only one standing tall and wickets tumbled aroung him. It is weird not to see comments like when Dhoni plays, India loses, because thats what the great man had to hear each time he scored and got out before seeing the team through. And never once did he crib about no one else providing a supporting role! The captain deserved this loss!

POSTED BY
K.Periasamy
on | January 4, 2013, 14:14 GMT

Why we should not try fresh team with best performers in Ranji trophy for at leastr 3rd one day, resting full indian team .

POSTED BY
Nampally
on | January 4, 2013, 14:11 GMT

@ListenToMe: Contrary to what you say ,the real problem with the Indian team is not making relevant changes to overcome the team deficiencies. You DO NOT go with the same squad after 2 thumping defeats! No other Nation in the World has such irrational logic. Right now this ODI team needs a sheet anchor in the top 5 batsmen. Kohli used to be that guy but he has failed consistently against Junaid Khan. Yuvraj & Raina are inherently weak against pace whilst Sehwag is out of form & Gambhir gets out poking at the balls outside the off. No wonder India were: 29 for 5 or 95 for 5 in 2 ODI's instead of 250 for 5.Indian bowling is weak- but if you don't even have 5th bowler it gets even weaker. No batting or Bowling- You get thumped. Simple. Pujara is in top form -why is he not in XI? Nadeem is an excellent 5th bowler, Get him IN. Replace Gambhir with Rahane.Put Dhoni ahead of Yuvraj & Raina.It is sad when the Captain & the Selectors refuse to reload the team with new guys to become Winners!

POSTED BY
ProdigyA
on | January 4, 2013, 14:09 GMT

GG, Viru (horrible fitness, look at his tummy in the picture, total lack of professionalism), Rohit, Sir Ravi Jadeja all of them must be shown the door from all form of cricket. I have seen enough of Rohit and Jadeja, its unreal how many chances these guys got. Total overhaul of both Test and ODI teams is needed. BCCI pls stop looking back and bring back players who dont keep performing. Look to give chances to new guys.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 14:00 GMT

I think for this tour Pakistan has prepared very well.Coaches have done an excellent job.They work with their bowlers plan were to attack each individual players.Credit should go to bowlers also for fine execution of plan in the field.Inzamul Haq has done an excellent job to mentally prepared batsmen for each situation in match.This series batsmen performed according to situation in match. Credit should be given to select a very good team.Misbah is as usual ver calm and intelligent caption.Now we have ver good ODI and test side.We have to work on our T20 side. We need technically sound openers and couple of young all rounders for T20. We should give chance to Haris shohail,Umer Amin and hammad Azam

POSTED BY
KUL
on | January 4, 2013, 13:49 GMT

Dhoni-If you are reading this comments please note that Team India is up against very quality Pace & Spin Bowling by Pakistan.Looking at Pak's composition they are the Best ODI side in world so India needs to throw some unusual tactics knowning that Game have changed as well with more player inside circle.India needs player like Jaysurya who can hit lofted shots over infields.Try Irfan Pathan as he is good in Lofting SHots and can be used as mainly for Bowling.Also when India was 59 for 3 we should be using some Bowlers like Ashwin or Jadeja as pinch hitters and ask them to slog straigtaway this might sound risky but worth taking that risk if you are down with 95/5 in 30 overs.This sort of tactics will help release pressure.All the best for 3rd ODI.I know you are not good captain for Test but ODI & T20 is your backyard so I felt bad reading all those nasty commnets about your captaincy.

POSTED BY
srinideva
on | January 4, 2013, 13:37 GMT

peoples and media also needs to be blamed for this state. People here in india always give more important to individuals than team. They want their players to be in the team. This rule applies to of as well. Some of the recent articles published in cricinfo also shows that this disease affect some of their editors. Sorry guys but its true. I hope you publish this. Atleast someone will change after reading this.

POSTED BY
srinideva
on | January 4, 2013, 13:26 GMT

@to all who are saying dhoni always have the excuses, common peoples what is wrong with you, he is the captain of the team and he was asked for the reasons of losses.
What you expect him to say?
He can't directly mention the player names who are not performing. That's not the good thing to do.
So there is to be some words for losses that's it.
First we have to change the culture in the indian team. There is bulk of non performers out there.
The openers should go to home now

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 13:10 GMT

drop dhoni, & Ashwin first in all three format. Then EVeryone play as a team. No one want dhoni as a captain no no no not in the team. Dhoni i not want to see as indian player in 2014. This year will be last as a player for India. "WE SAY, THIS IS THE GOD SAY"

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 4, 2013, 12:50 GMT

Dump Fletcher.Bring in Ganguly.Drop Dhoni as captain for ALL formats.Bring Kohli as skipper,we might still struggle but wont be as bad as under Dhoni.DROP Sehwag&Gambhir.Enough chances given now time to move on.Bit sad because I am 100% sure that internal wranglings and Dhoni's stupid 'rotation' tactics messed with their minds since Oz.Sehwag as a player would have been useful in middle order but time for it has passed due to Dhoni's stubbornness.Bring in Rahane & Unmukt.Again,they might struggle but surely wont be as clueless as Viru&GG.DROP Yuvraj,he's clearly a T20 player,may be the fitness,the sustaining capacity or just hunger but he is clearly a misfit in longer formats.Bring in Pujara not flashy as Yuvi but brings in stability&calm to dressing room.DROP Raina & bring in Tiwary when fit.Stay with Rohit coz though given chances,most were when Ind was either struggling at 5 down, or finishing a successful chase.If we can persist with Viru for that long,Rohit can be too..

POSTED BY
cosair
on | January 4, 2013, 12:43 GMT

India needs to build a team which will gel together and produce the results required.
The current openers are not performing and it would be appropriate to try a new combination. Bowling has been a problem and this should be looked at with great urgency to ensure we have specialists seammers and spinners who will be able to adapt to different conditions.
It is pointless to pin Dhoni as there are 11 players in a team.When you have as in the first 2 matches only Dhoni who was consistent in the batting Department, then we have the wrong combination of players and if one continues with the same team you will expect such results.
Look to the future not just the present.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 12:42 GMT

Continuing again:-
Talking about Indian bowling ..! So I think India need here 2 bowlers who can bowl 140+ kph and I see them in umesh yadav and varun aaron ..! And India may have a very good pace attack for future given these are looked after well ..! And these can compete Inside and outside India ...! Which can be the best thing that can happen
My odi team for dhoni is he is to see this and get some sense..!
1. Rahane 2. Rohit 3. Kohli 4. Pujara 5. Raina 6. Dhoni 7. Ashwin 8. Jadeja 9.b. kumar 10. Umesh yadav 11. Varun aaron

POSTED BY
nyc_missile
on | January 4, 2013, 12:42 GMT

Dhoni is just a sack of shameless excuses..seems these days he's announcing even before matches..toss,lack of bowling options..WTH are you doing Mr skipper? On a good day,he'll come at 4 but on a difficult day,lets youngsters take the heat? This is not a captain should be doing..His strategy seems to be,well since I am under pressure,why not make the others look bad too.Sehwag has been crying for the last 2 yrs that he prefers middle order.Also on Rohit,the poor guy gets to bat at 7 when everything is either hunky dory or down in the dumps..what difference can he make with a few overs left.So Dhoni drops him and brings in Jadeja..is he the only option left in Ind cricket reserves..Why has Tiwary been ignored till he gets injured and goes cold again? IMO,Dhoni as a captain in ALL formats must go.He is a good ODI player but a woeful test player esp abroad.His negative mindset,spinelessness & lethargy have caused enough damage.He's clearly overstayed as captain since Eng tour 2011.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 12:34 GMT

First of all ..! Well played Pakistan being an Indian fan I liked your new born enthusiasm in the cricket field under whatmore who should be credited for discipline and order..! The one drawback in ur team could be ur middle order in odi where misbah and younus should go who play to test standards spoil the start given ..! So umar Akmal and maybe razzaq should be given a go ..! I see a great future for Pakistan with Mohammed amir coming in soon ..!
Moving on to India ..! Duncan is a puppet handled by bcci and dhoni is not making the right decisions ..! Batting order needs a rejig ..! People have often talked about rohit sharma not performing for godsake a batsman with such talent is wasted at no 6 ..! He always comes in wen India is either in trouble or he has 5- 10 balls to face ..! Which is not fair at all..! Balling wise India have found a very good swing bowler in kumar who is smart and uses swing well ..! Characters finishing re continue in another comment ..,!)

POSTED BY
late--cut
on | January 4, 2013, 11:42 GMT

@Ignatius Arul Vijay on (January 04 2013, 04:04 AM GMT); Its not a fault of the coach that you are getting trashed on regular basis. Its your incompetent players. They can't bat, bowl or field. I say keep the coach, sack the players OR..... just stop playing Cricket. Problem solved. Full-stop

POSTED BY
late--cut
on | January 4, 2013, 11:31 GMT

Another disgraceful, selfish act from the so called great MS Dhoni. Refusing to take the single in order to get his 50 ??? The match was going nowhere, required RR was going sky high. But MSD couldn't care less. All in his mind was reaching that personal goal. He could have gone at 30 or 40 fighting with honor. Instead He chose to be a coward. What was he thinking?? to have a better career avg, to keep that indian crowd in a few more mins of agony, to give another opportunity for world to laugh at already demised Indian Cricket ?? I thought these biased writers would have a decency to at least write about it. I wonder what our indian fans have to say about it.....

POSTED BY
Old_School
on | January 4, 2013, 11:13 GMT

Why can't one solve the Internal Issues in the team ?

Why are players like Rahane, Bhajji, Shami, Pujara left out?

Why did people like Dravid, Laxman give up ?

One thing I can Say that for sure is "Once it was Greg Chappel's effect and now it is MSD's Effect".

This time they failed and earlier the rest failed Why does this matter to u when the earlier doesn't...........

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 11:07 GMT

Indian Selection Committee should take a lesson or two from the Pakistan Counterpart. Not a single player in Pakistan team is certain that he will be playing in the next series irrespective of the players reputation. If the player is not performing, he is out of the team. Short and simple.

Selecting players on reputation and not on form leads to the situation TEAM INDIA is in today.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 11:03 GMT

Dhoni is constantly asked to get 5th bowler. Indians should realize that that a fifth bowler would help if they have 4 good bowlers already. Indians need good bowlers period. After having such a nice pitch, they should have gotten pakistan down by 200. But if they have gone down with never ending batting line and gotten beaten twice, then perhaps they should admit that pakistan is the superior side here.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 10:39 GMT

Its funny how some people blame ipl for downfall of indian cricket and same person asks gambir to be captain based on ipl performance.Please dont take any selection out of ipl its worthless. the reson for india losses are
1) repeating same players after losing matches.Really i dont know how gambir,sehwag,rohit sharma is keep selected for india after that many failures.No need to wait for another game to see they perform just pass that slot to another deserved young star
2) duccan flecter that old man can not work hard that implies the team.please observe the level of fitness of rohit sharma in sl odi series so much of weight for a cricketer
3) playing same players for all formats.how can expect the same guy to score @130 sr and take guard in test match for playing 2 or 3 sessions.for experienced players its ok but for @23,24,25 aged players its difficult.
4) please set wages in ipl for all indian players the same that implies equality among all players atleast for test players.

POSTED BY
AVM3
on | January 4, 2013, 10:33 GMT

Good India won the toss else Dhoni would have blamed on that also:-)
It is time for time Sehwag to announce retirment before next ODI which will help him get a good farewell on his home ground. Sehwag, Sachin and Gambhir: last series in tests is vs aust if they don't perform. Rahane, Manoj Tiwaty, Kohli, Rohit, Ambati should form the fulcrum of batting!!! Dhoni's pet boys Raina, Aswin and Jadeja should be included only on merit that is if they perform else ignore them as well. Ojha is a very good bowler not sure why Aswin gets preference in all format? Irfan can be a good bowling all ronder to lend balance.
Yuvi and Dhoni: technique is not great but have to be in team even if they are inconsistent to please corporate companies! Ofcourse they are match winners and 2 players out of 11 are inconsistent that is fine. Atleast we can expect a good team if other 9 are young and dedicated.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 10:21 GMT

need to get rid of Sehwag...he is not only wasting one slot but with crappy attitude and fielding he is demotivating everyone around

POSTED BY
mlkt
on | January 4, 2013, 10:14 GMT

@Listentome......this is not rotation policy....this is zone wise rotation of new players done by selectors of their respective zones....see selection in india is like this only...when the team is steady, playing well, selectors dont bother to look for new talent and nurture them, keep favourite and popular players as stand by, and carry on giving them chances even if they fail.....and when team flops, they get down to select players randomly on zone basis...give them limited oppurtunities, remove them if they fail(sometimes they r ousted even without playing a single game and then never come back to national team)......one is reminded of one NEOL DAVID who came to indian team when tendulkar was captain.....even now players like abhimanyu mithun are selected but dropped without giving them chance....

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 10:04 GMT

I have immense praise for Dhoni, the bittersweet whiplashing media, the complaining fans and the cricketing board of the mafia stature and how he deals with it all in the cricketing field( other than the fact of being one of hte highest paid cricketer)
MY question to everyone, if Dhoni is out, whom to replace with? Right now none of the player in the side is capable of doing this, and having enough media flak, best is to think rationally. It would also be futile to make Dhoni a martyr and then get him back in the side if all else fails.
Ps, Munaf Patel and Varun Aaron, and harbhajan to replace either spinner should be replaced in the bowling attack, the series is lost so might as well try other blood.

POSTED BY
AmarendraDevarapalli
on | January 4, 2013, 9:57 GMT

Where are sachin hatred critis.may be now they realize the facts that all the other batsmen sleeping under sachin bat from past years. this is what happen when that bat not in playing XI. if sachin was there in team total focus definitely goes on sachin and everybody talking about his retirement. i am absolutely agree with dhoni words that from past years sachin feels the total team pressure and some body should over take from him.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 9:55 GMT

i dont understand why the hell Indian Selectors cannot learn from Aussies, Pakis and other nations. Australia is one great example to tell cricketers that if they do not perform there is no place for them in the playing team.
Hard luck for India team which is going the way politics and favorism is taking it.

POSTED BY
Shridharan.S
on | January 4, 2013, 9:46 GMT

Pakistan really deserve to win the series as they outplayed India in all three departments of the game.MS Dhoni should not be blamed for this loss.Then Entire Team did not perform up to expectations.Duncan Fletcher should be sacked and get in Sourav Ganguly.

Until and unless BCCI develops hard and bouncy wickets in India, it would be a waste of time watching Indian cricket, in my humble opinion. The insult that started with the Australian tour continues......

POSTED BY
sivabani
on | January 4, 2013, 9:05 GMT

Now everyone knows the important of Tendulkar in the team. I accepts IndianCricketFan100 words.

POSTED BY
Sen..
on | January 4, 2013, 8:59 GMT

Now no sachin the whole team in trouble.. Let them suffer.. Till they recall sacHin BACK at least for 1 more year..

Even the experts comment "'It hurts to see Tendulkar struggle".. Now "It hurts to see the whole team struggling"

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:56 GMT

God knows Wht our team's doing,coz watever they are it seems that it's not ri8 :(

POSTED BY
JoieDeVivre
on | January 4, 2013, 8:55 GMT

The biggest issue we have at the moment is barring one or two players most of the upcoming cricketers are product of IPL which is a big worry. Sure, you have a Virat Kohli who stands out but other than that players like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin are all IPL products. Now they are all good players but they just don't have expsoure of playing top class attacks in helpful/unhelpful conditions. If you pick players from IPL the results we are seeing shouldn't surprise any of us. How many young kids today want to be bowlers? Triple hundreds in Ranji are scored by one an all and at times more than 1 in a season by a single player doesn't this say the story? BCCI is doing nothing to improve the quality of first class cricket and unless we do this we will struggle against top teams. No point blaming IPL, I strongly think IPL will help provided the quality of first class cricket, pitches are improved and it is given the importance it deserves. Is BCCI listening? we know the answer.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:52 GMT

It's all worthless to blame skipper, or individual players. what i saw from past 18 months or so is that
1. Our dear coach Mr. Duncan has made condition of Indian team as more poor in every department of game, u can compare his techniques ,skills & atitude with Kirsten...... it differs more than just a lot,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

2. Continuous T20 & IPL has changed d way of batting of whole top order enormously cause of that they suffer in Tests & one dayers too.

3.Our conventional thinking based 'Selection boad' & USELESSNESS of Cricket academies to select best players from a population in lakhs of brilliat Talents from poor families or so cause they aren't getting technical guidance exposure in spite of brilliant talents.

so there's an urgent need of changing present coach Fletcher & introduction of better suitable coach which can be done by BCCI & IPL must only be meant for new talents for showing their talents for sake of cricket Future.Don't change captain

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:50 GMT

Ganguly and Kumble as Coach is the Solution.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:29 GMT

dhoni rued the failure of his batsmen after the bowlers had brought India back into the match.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:20 GMT

The problem is not with Dhoni only, Actually the problem is with the whole India nation....Whenever, they lose a match (especially against Pakistan) they start blaming their team for poor efforts. but they never praise the opposition for excellent performance... For God Sake folk's....It's time to Grow-up.!!

POSTED BY
jasonpete
on | January 4, 2013, 8:18 GMT

Posted by Alexk400 on (January 03 2013, 19:16 PM GMT), Hilarious ,you still blame dhoni for all your top order failure for past two years.Everypne credited entire team when team winning and now when team losing,all are hell bent blaming only on dhoni when our non performers like Gambhir and sehwag still in team for their past reputation and I don't understand why they are in the team when they don't score runs and poor running between wickets and poor fielding in almost all the matches in recent times? Appreciate for whatever he done to Indian cricket and india failing as a team ,start from no.1 batsmen to no.11 bowler and not because of your captain.I am not from india and I am amazed to see the negative comments for dhoni who is just playing all alone when other members are failing continuously and because of their god like status,fans like you will still blame dhoni and turns a blind eye on sehwag ad Gambhir.Look at the reality.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 8:16 GMT

Repetition of 2000 when India lost badly to Srilanka and Indian cricket was under turmoil. Ganguly took over the reigns and transformed Indian team and created a platform for Dhoni to take forward. We need another Ganguly who can fight fire with fire, take bold decisions to bring in another transformation.

POSTED BY
abby_cricketlover
on | January 4, 2013, 7:58 GMT

IN SHORT, players lacking HUNGER and FEW taking too lightly.
1. bolwers are doing thier best without strong coach( Srinath, Parsad, Bishon singh bedi, maninder singh can be)
2. IPL and T20 is screwing new generation of cricket, where they hardly need to apply Them , stardom hits them.
3. Have seprate Players for seprate format, Like for only T20 , Yuvraj , Raina, Rohit, Saurabh Tiwari, Ambati Raydu, ROBIN Utthapa,( save waste of talent) Jadeja--ONLY for test--Pujara, Mukund, Ojha, Mishra, Sharma.
same few 4 on ONLY ODI Kohli ( groom him as ONLY ODI and Test), Vijay ,Rahane , Tiwari.UNMUKT CHAND , DHONI.
3. India needs a Psychologist to tell them to treat every new game as NEW game and Cost of throwing away thier wickets. DIG Deep and Apply.
4. Sehwag/Gambhir Out of form of late or doing with intention to Harm Dhoni.
( Remove both for Min 2 series and See How do they bounce with HUNGER)
5, Who looks after Cause of So many Bowlers getin injured, Umesh, Pravin, Varun, Sreesanth.

POSTED BY
eng_mdkhan
on | January 4, 2013, 7:57 GMT

I think Kamran Abbasi might have hit the nail on the head. It might not be as much to do with Indian batting as much with the two new balls rule. I strongly feel Virendar Sehwag and Gambhir do not enjoy playing under Dhoni. There is some friction and either Dhoni should have played other openers who are waiting in the wings or think about stepping down. Virat's appearances on TV ads suggests he might be preoccupied elsewhere when in infact he should be busy becoming the next wall with colossal scores. Down the order we need someone like Yusuf Pathan or Irfan Pathan who represented India at the top level and performed as well. Mohammed Kaif is another one who is also being wasted and frankly this BS about younger players does not justify their exclusion especially when they still have much to offer. India has enough talent that can be even rotated on a regular basis but for the fact that it is not managed professionally.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 7:49 GMT

Hello every one i just wanted to say india team is same like pakistani team in 2003 when we have big names in our team but we were out worldcup in first round. The reason of flopping pakistan team that was indiviual conflicts of team member wasim waqar shoiab. now india team have shewag , gambir and dhoni conflict .. I personally love india team batting as i always belive they have the world best batting side. but now i feel india is loasing becoz of personal conflict .. They left out zaheer, harbajan sing i personaly hate bhaji but i know he is top class bowler. irfan pathan i am surprise by indian team selection how many chances you guys will give to ashwin he is a container not a wicket taking bowler jajeda he is good but so often he goes for run too many times. INDIA need right time. below is my team which i can bet india can win any team.
1. rahane 2. gambir 3. kholi 4.dhoni 5. yuvi .6 raina. 7. irfan pathan / jajeda 8. harbajan 9. zaheer 10. ishant .11 kumar ..

POSTED BY
cric_fan123
on | January 4, 2013, 7:16 GMT

Its easy to see what's the problem with the current team. Everyone thinks they belong in the current line up is their right, they need not earn it, its just their right for playing good last 2-3 years.
As for Dhoni, people asking why he needs to be removed? Seriously? Lets see the reasons: 1. Batting - If top order is failing where is Rahane/Pujara/Manoj Tiwary? Why are we playing the same old failures - Sehwag/Gambhir/Raina? Special case needs to be made for our openers. Both of them need to go, work out the kinks. Gambhir keeps nicking the ball and Sehwag, less said is better. 2. Bowling - If its difficult to defend scores with part timers why play Jadeja? He is not an all rounder. Yes he might work sporadically, doesnt mean he needs to be in the team. And why you keep bowling part timers if you know they wont work.

Blaming is easy but finding solutions are not. If our bowling/batting is not good why not talk to Srinivasn to conduct more camps/do away with regional selections?

POSTED BY
Gupta.Ankur
on | January 4, 2013, 6:58 GMT

I think Dhoni should be retained as limited overs skipper, but can be replaced both as captain and wicket-keeper from tests...though there are hardly as replacements.

I think people tend to focus on one individual/entity and pin the blame on it and dont see the complete picture...

Had there been sachin in this series, Ir-respective of his performances, the blame would have been on him.....now its on the Dhoni.

The problem is that Yuvraj/Sehwag/Gambhir have been very in-consistent throughout their careers and with Sachin no longer to shield them.....people are looking at the "real" picture.

India would do well to infuse fresh blood in the line-up against the 3 i mentioned.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 5:50 GMT

I see Yuvraj, Raina, Gambhir in everybody's random eleven... Lol you guys, you would have been decapitated in ancient Greece if you support for non-performers like these lads.. unfortunately it is India.. You can always bank on once-in-a-blue moon-performers like these lads and give em their undeserved hype and reputation.. MS Dhoni is an asset in the shorter formats of the game.. The guy averages more than 100 in the ODI's played after 2011 world cup, being captain . The guy is not a test material, I agree, but he is a well deserving cap in ODI's. The guys in the top 5 are not cricketing materials, if you ask me. CricInfo pl publish!!!!

POSTED BY
chennaisixers001
on | January 4, 2013, 5:40 GMT

Anurag Saxena on (January 03 2013, 19:10 PM GMT) Mr.Saxena you want to keep captain cool and drop sehwag ,gambhir and other non performing players but who has the responsibility to ask for players who are in good form and playing well.its none other than captain cool.he played selfishly for that 50 and didn't even try to win this game.whats the use of staying there till the end when you know you will lose if u didn't try.He stayed there till the end so that everyone will say that he fought hard single handedly and he had no partners.He wanted save himself from the bashers from doing so.If he doesn't has to courage/power to drop nonperforming players then why are you in the team as captain.Until then dhoni is there as captain he will not allow rahane,tiwary and other players to come in.Drop him first

POSTED BY
hari040761
on | January 4, 2013, 5:37 GMT

t20 didn't require slogging every ball. it requires lot of cricketing strokes. batsment should adapt to the type of game whether t20 or odi or test. it is purely shot selection and over defensive by lower order. raina 42 balls 18runs, ashwin 22 balls 3 runs, dhoni also 50 balls for 17 runs. this approach should be changed. how hafeez played during 2nd t20 that is the spirit. how nasir played during 2nd t20 and now both odi. it is not ipl. players should perform for that day for that game and should adapt otherwise they are not professionals. MY TEAM FOR THIRD ODI IS: PUJARA(TO OPEN LIKE DRAVID AND TENDULKAR), RAHANE, KHOLI, YUVARAJ, DHONI, SCHEWAG, RAINA, ASHWIN, ISHANT, B KUMAR, SHAMI AHMED OR DINDA OR JADEJA.

POSTED BY
indiasupbangalore
on | January 4, 2013, 5:26 GMT

As a indian supporter it hurts when india looses but I think it was better india loosing the series to pakistan then win it. Top order, middle order batting has been a problem for india since the culmination of the WC 2011. It was always put under the rug since the selectors thought it was temporary issue, apparently it is not. The posters here seems have better ideas than the selectors, which makes you think bcci is full of politics and corruption. I expect very less for the last odi will have to go through the motions, let us see if the selectors show some courage for upcoming odi against england.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 5:16 GMT

Who wants MSD to retire as captain. A captain is only good as his team as the Indian openers are the worst in the history of Indian cricket. Both Gambhir should retire from all formats for a few months and Sehwag & Rohit Sharma should thrown away from the team. Sehwag is a worst worst worst player i hv seen..........

POSTED BY
Sujii
on | January 4, 2013, 5:14 GMT

Stop Blaming DHONI first. without him this current INDIAN team is nowhere. He took India to top in all formats of the game and still he is the only one who is atleast trying to do that till now. OF course sometimes dhoni has not played but he is ready to give his best for nation where as others are not. Chennai ODI was lost with respect due to CSK guys Dhoni,Raina and Ashwin. Kolkata ODI was lost with mere respect thanks this time to another CSK guy Jadeja and Dhoni. So give dhoni sometime. He is the best Indian Captain.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 5:02 GMT

Well guys your comments are very interesting specially Indians guys comments can't understand why you guys are that much against of respected MS Dhoni.... He is great Captain check out his record guys still i think he must be captain of Indian team at least WC15'.

POSTED BY
tahsinshaan
on | January 4, 2013, 5:02 GMT

I really don't understand, Y can't we change the Captain.. Pakistan made a hasty decision and tried 5 different Captains after the controversy.. Aussies gave captainship to other when Ponting was not performing.. Even SA changed 3 captains recently... All the Best teams do it... a yound blood Captain would loose but learn from mistakes... and will hv greed & hunger for win... Keeping Dhoni as captain is not taking India anywhere... IF we want to dominate WC 2015 ... We need a young Captain to play with as many as ODIs they can abroad... That is the only Solution... Plz Plz Plz get rid of the old age people... we r already ruining the politics bcz of them ... Pleas save the Game !!

POSTED BY
AnilKumarK
on | January 4, 2013, 4:58 GMT

Everyone is blaming or fed up with MSD's excuses but Is there any option to him? Can he criticize his own players in front of media? I do accept that he is failing in picking up his team in-spite of continuous batsman failures but please think once before throwing comments on any player.
Why this media guys will not Interview other batsman who are not performing now or lost form like Sehwag n Gambhir?
I request Cricinfo team to conduct an interview with Sehwag n Gambhir and Shoot all the questions which are being asked to MSD by all....

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 4:54 GMT

Congrats to all my fellow Pakistani friends for this awesome series win yes we deserved it alot of work to do still Haris sohail and umar amin can be a part of this team now bowling we have handful of resources so we need to look after them Junaid was always impressive but Irfan just from his eyes u can judge he is hungry so he will get better and better no doubt needs to stay fit though.
Indian friends IPL is somewhat responsible a little of these failures but more it is because of the Player power that we have in our sports thats spoiling it may be we fans are also a little culprit in this these players are professionals they earn money which we can only dream of but they won't accept the facts that they are not in form and need to go back to basics we need souls like Imran and Saurav Dada to revive otherwise get ready for the team of 1990's of india where Srinath and sachin needed to carry the team and Kumble in home series GOD bles Sub continent cricket my1st coment plz publish

POSTED BY
amarnath79
on | January 4, 2013, 4:44 GMT

India has been losing since Harbhajanwas sidelined by selectors.

All the other seniors have been given 10s of chances. But not Harbhajan. Why?

How can DHONI alone win matches? give this guy a break. he is the best capt. INDIA need good bowlers. some fast bowlers. pls drop. Ishant. Shewag. Gambir. and Rohith, Make 3 teams for 3 formats like SA. all the best for the future.

POSTED BY
Simika
on | January 4, 2013, 4:15 GMT

If a captain is good as his team, what value does a captain have in cricket. Players have to perform but he inspire the young guns, and coach should rectify their mistakes!!! But for Shewag, Gauti, and Yuvraj its enough time they should back up else they will be dropped from the side. Rahane, Pujara,M.Tiwary,should come in place of them.The bowling line up is good , they need time,exposure,inspirition and proper mentoring. India does not have a spin bowling coach. BBCI should see these areas, proper mentoring is important for the new players. Finding proper coaches will not be a problem for BCCI. As long as captaincy is concerned, whoever is the captain should be able to guide the team and inspire players, a bit more aggression is always good in these tough situations. It's important Team India battles the pressure, finds the perfect team combination for ODIs and Tests.
Dhoni's 113 and 54 is of no use until an unless India is able to win the match.
Team India should put in more effort.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 4:07 GMT

First of well played pakistani team and they outclasses india in all fields ..... but then being a paki fan we need to c if the ODI side we have at the moment is a balanced one !!!! i am sorry to say but i have a big NOOO .... we can not have three simialr style of players comming at no 3,4 & 5 .... i mean forgot sake you cannot have all three Misbah , Younis and Azhar in ODI team ... yes they all 3 wud fit in Test match but not in an ODI , we need to have some more impact players ..... we are wasting umar akmal just as india has wasted a pure class in form of rohit sharma .... umar akaml shud be played higher in the order like number 4 as u need to give your best batsman a chance at the top ...Also misbah shud be reatined as ODI captain for another 6 months and after that he shud focuss on Test keeping WC 2015 in mind. My 11 for ODI will BE

What the hell is Sehwag and Gambhir doing in the team? Those 2 folks can neither bat nor bowl nor field. Get new openers. Long have they been failing.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 4:06 GMT

Dhoni has a bunch of excuses ready for every time India loses. Why can't he just give Pakistan credit and say that they played better and won. It is always we needed to do this and that but we didn't If we had done this and not that. Give me a break you are not expected or entitled to win every single game. You have to respect the oppositions effort, for they are there to play just as you are.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 4:04 GMT

Please sack Fletcher as coach, Problem Solved. Full-stop

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 4:04 GMT

i think india should form different teams forall formats especially openers u can eapect gambir to deliver consistently with sr@140,@90,@50.its tough i think get vijay,another guy with hand eye co-ordination (please keep chand out of this) and get 3 openers in test & odis

POSTED BY
ullasjp
on | January 4, 2013, 3:53 GMT

Everyone is speaking of dropping players. what about Fletcher.? His records are worst than anyone in Indian cricket.. Bring Ganguly as a coach everything will be fine...!

POSTED BY
wake_up_india
on | January 4, 2013, 3:50 GMT

I have been following subcontinental cricket for over three decades and if there is one thing I can take heart from (there is not much else for an Indian fan) is the mature and sporting comments coming from the fans of the two rivals. There was a time when intense mutual hatred would boil over into the cricket field. Perhaps we have finally grown up. I would like it better if India were also playing a little better but if I had to choose I would choose the sportsmanship currently on display.

POSTED BY
ramli
on | January 4, 2013, 3:48 GMT

Remove MSD from ODI ... yes ... then we can stop watching cricket in India ... as there will not be even any semblance of fight remaining in all the inevitable losses ... instead ... just blood the youngsters ... and still continue to complain MSD for the losses!!!

POSTED BY
Natraja
on | January 4, 2013, 3:43 GMT

People are missing the real picture by blaming Dhoni. Blame should go to selectors who have no guts to drop non performing openers. Sehwag and Gambhir.. They should also find two good bowlers who can take a few wickets. Dhoni has no magic wand to take 10 wickets and make 400 runs every time. For god sake its team game where 11 players are playing but DHONI is the only one who is performing. Get off his back.

POSTED BY
wake_up_india
on | January 4, 2013, 3:38 GMT

Many are asking to give Dhoni additional time as captain based on his individual batting performnace. This is completely misguided and does not recognize that the best player in the side should not be the captain but someone who can think strategically and inspire his teammates. Imran, Pataudi and Ganguly are good examples. Dhoni's thinking is beyond ordinary people's comprehension. At one point in the Kolkata match it looked like he was trying to save a test match. Someone needs to ask him what he was doing out there. He is the man that decides to step on the brakes or the accelerator. He seemed to be sleep walking in the 40th over. And talk about giving directions to bowlers and setting the field -- he gives "hands off" an new meaning. Keep him as a player but definitely not as a captain.

POSTED BY
Simika
on | January 4, 2013, 3:37 GMT

Indian team needs to find the perfect combination for ODIS and Tests .....the proper 15 members.When players don't play its the captain's responsibility to inspire the team, and the coach should to the players. In the last ODI, India should try Rahane in place of Shewag.

POSTED BY
IndianCricketFan100
on | January 4, 2013, 3:19 GMT

Where are the Tendulkar Bashers now? Go hide in your closets. All your so called youngsters have not learnt to hold a bat right yet!!

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 3:19 GMT

Wah....Dhoni......Wah............1 century and 1 Half century...and back in front of the media...........where were you during the test series.

POSTED BY
BRKRISHNA
on | January 4, 2013, 3:14 GMT

I do not understand why Indian players stare at their Pakistani counterparts when the Pakistani's take a catch, execute an exquisite shot for bowling super accurate deliveries. It should be the other way round. Pakistani players should be expressing surprise and look sadly at Indian players for displaying very poor cricketing skills.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 3:10 GMT

i think somthng is doing wrong inside the indian team i thnk there r 2 parties inside 1 is sehwag n othr one is dhoni

POSTED BY
WickyRoy.paklover
on | January 4, 2013, 3:04 GMT

No surprise at all,i predicted dis result about 6,7 months ago,i also predicted numerousy that ind would strugle even to win at home,i gues my paki felows,in an effort to become over.genrous,R over estimating ind bating which iz obviously highly ovr.rated at best,obviously,if ind iz so much obsessed wid ipl n t20s(as claimed by many ind fans),then where R reslts 4 ind at intrnational level?PAK HAVE BETR T20 TEAM THAN IND,SO IZ D CASE IN TESTS AS WELL....PLZ THERE SHOULD BE NO MISBAH,AZHAR,FAWAD IN OUR ODI TEAM,UMAR AKMAL,AHMD SHAHZAD SHOUD B GIVEN A gud run in odis 4rm now on.

POSTED BY
indusfan
on | January 4, 2013, 2:57 GMT

I hope we get thrashed by a 3-0 margin by the visiting team. Never have the Indian team shown any professionalism and looks like they take every game for granted that they are going to win. It is not the selectors who are to blame, it is the players themselves.

POSTED BY
champak1010
on | January 4, 2013, 2:47 GMT

Opposite teams do not have to play intelligent cricket now a days when playing against INDIA as these Indian team is playing without any moral. Just provide enough ropes and they will hang themselves. Sehwag and Ghambhir are such shameless and stupid cricketers that they even do not need a rope for this purpose. Younger and new cricketers should concentrate more on game and not on glamor. BCCI is a corrupt body otherwise players who are performing very very badly for last 2 or 3 years should not be in the team at all.If they do not change their approach and attitude,cricket will loose its grace and charming as hockey lost in India.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 2:40 GMT

It's not Dhoni's fault that the top order isn't firing. I blame the selectors. Get rid of the players that aren't performing. They need to fight for their position so younger players who are scoring runs in domestic cricket should get a chance to play first class cricket.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 2:19 GMT

Dont worry guys !! India is going to come back ..Maybe MSD should step down and just play as an allrounder.. Yuvraj should take over as T-20 captain and maybe Kohli for Ondayers. MSD should retire from Tests . Ghambir can be Test captain. Rohit needs a big break.. and Saurav Ganguly has to come back as the Coach for all formats. We dont need a foreign coach, we need Dada as coach.......

POSTED BY
HawK89
on | January 4, 2013, 2:13 GMT

Funny how indian media call for dhoni to be dropped but is the only batsmen to make any runs. Tendulkar was smart to retire from ODI as he saw what was coming.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 2:13 GMT

I am really not happy with Eden Gardens pitch. I know we disqualified it once. Give a pitch that lasts 50-100 overs.To make the game interesting. The dew, the pitch, the uneven bouce. How come we had 140 for no loss for Pak and then on the wickets just started falling for both India and Pakistan.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 1:52 GMT

Now its time to make three different teams for all three different formats, and try to make find some new bowlers who are able to bowl more than 140 km/ph. Why our selectors given chances to new faces like Australia? They have so many fast bowlers in their squad specially when they are played home series. My opinion...The batting is not the big problem in these days, we all know what is our strength, unfortunately unable to enforce properly. But bowling "Baap Re Baap".

POSTED BY
vind_2801
on | January 4, 2013, 1:49 GMT

Srikant did far better job than the current selectors who hesitate to change anything ..... drop shewag and gambir from all formats ...experience alone won't win matches ....we need performance ....if v fail when we are experimenting its good ....these senior players are blocking the progress of the team ....especially when thr are so many who are waiting for their chances ....yuvi shld restrict himself to t20 ... u can't blame MSD for everything ....the current selectors are useless ...

POSTED BY
ammiel
on | January 4, 2013, 1:45 GMT

Gambhir and Sehwag are finished, they are not contributing in any format of the game, surely India can see this and replace them with any one of many good young prospects. Tests and ODI games in particular if u start poorly u will struggle, the first 2 at the crease are your most important batsmen.

POSTED BY
Giant-Guru
on | January 4, 2013, 1:42 GMT

Now lets us admit that BCCIs stubborn attitude to continue playing with the out-of-form players is costing Indian cricket a never ending series lost be it at home or abroad. Tough and stern action needs to be taken against players like Gambhir, Sehwag to find form, leave mediocre bowlers like Dinda who only knows to bowl shot and wide, give new comers a chance, play Rahane, Shami Ahmed, and find some new young genuine talent....its time for Gambhir, Sehwag to go for a long walk out of the team.

POSTED BY
JoieDeVivre
on | January 4, 2013, 1:39 GMT

What is also worrying is BCCI seems to have taken these losses without any issues and keep blaming loss of former players which is again wrong, barring Sachin this is the same batting line which did well from 2008 to mid 2011, so where is the issue? One look at Gambhir & Sehwag will give the answer, Sehwag is a liability both with bat and in the field, surely a young and inexperienced guy can't do any worse than him. Yes the quality of batting which is coming from domestic circuit might not be the greatest but can the results get any worst? Only place in the world where non performance is tolerated is Indian Cricket. If picking Harbhajan for Tests against England was a mistake picking Amit Mishra, Sreesanth & Piyush Chawla was taking step backwards. Umesh Yadav & Varun Aaron are in the injured list, do we even know who is monitoring their fitness & what is happening to their recovery process? Bet your bottom penny we've lost both of them for good at least as bowlers who can bowl quick

POSTED BY
AvidCricFan
on | January 4, 2013, 1:30 GMT

I, as an Indian cricket fan, can put up with loses as long as I feel good about the future direction. However, the selection and make up of the playing eleven is not at all inspiring. The future players are warming bench and consistently failing old dogs are persisted with. How many matches it will take to decide to bench Shewag, Yuvi and Gambhir? It is bad that Kohli has lost his form. He needs to rise to occasion. Selectors need to do away with too many all-rounders who more often than not fail to do justice to either bowling or batting.

POSTED BY
JoieDeVivre
on | January 4, 2013, 1:30 GMT

If the recent perfromance at home is not a trigger not sure what else is. Blaming IPL for the losses is fair but quite frankly IPL is not the only reason. BCCI, to my mind is the biggest culprit. The theory is simple, if you are non performer you will be chucked out regardless of what you had done in the past, same thing should apply to most of the players playing in this team - Gambhir, Sehwag are at least 2 of them. Blaming Dhoni for the loss is fair given how conservative his captaincy is but that's not the only reason, it's no secret their is genuine dearth of good quality bowlers in India at the moment, if someone lie Sreesanth is getting selected again that tells the story and what is BCCI or the selectors doing to arrest the trend? Nothing. IPL, if used properly can be of exterme help to Indian cricket but BCCI is absolutely not concerned about first class cricket and the result is we will only produce mediocore cricketers and us Indian fans should get used to such results.

POSTED BY
gnshah
on | January 4, 2013, 1:29 GMT

This is enough. We need some serious changes in Indian team now. Throw Sehwag, Gambhir, Rohit sharma, Ravindra Jadeja out of the team. Bring in manoj tiwary, Ajinkya rahane, unmukt chand, pujara in. Try a new opening pair in terms of rahane and unmukt chand for mathches. bring in manoj tiwry for middle order inplaces of talentless and useless rohit sharma. IN bowlong department, i would say bring harbhajan singh back. keep the fast bowlers in team and bring back mujaf patel and praveen kumar back in. give anohter chance to sreesanth. Keep Dhoni as captain in all formats and ask him to resign from CSK captain. REduce the amouth of T20 played by indian players. and BIGGEST OF ALL, IPL. IPL IS ruining indian cricket. shut it down

POSTED BY
Abimanyucbe
on | January 4, 2013, 1:20 GMT

Hi dhoni,
The Quality All rounder u r searching none other than IRFAN PATHAN,Get him out of Injury and bring back into team................
but hatsoff to ur innings..........

POSTED BY
Great_sportsman
on | January 4, 2013, 1:20 GMT

I partially agree with "womenlovecricket". That ll be a bold decision for the BCCI. But, Yuvi is the 1 day specialist - Man of the series in the world cup, moreover he didn't play cricket for almost an year - plus when we talk about Yuvi - it's just not his batting - according to me he is an all-rounder who keeps on motivating everyone on the field - bowls when need be, active. Sehwag should be thrown out - he is not technical, he is like once in a blue moon kind of player - i don't know what is he doing in the team.

"WaggaAussi" "ak_dragon " - Their job is to play cricket, ir-respective of the format of the game. There are so many great players who play T20, and they are good in all formats, they have to adapt to the change - thats' what cricket is all about - changing the tactics depending on the situation.

POSTED BY
BallparkFrank
on | January 4, 2013, 1:09 GMT

Just, mere, simple, brainless uncomplicated one thing an ardent Indian cricket fan can do: STOP going to the IPL games. Ultimately, the fan pays for the player's performance; every other entity makes commitments to pay subject to ticket sales. STOP buying tickets. Do it. That will fix this problem in the country of the great leader of non-cooperation.

POSTED BY
doubtingthomas
on | January 4, 2013, 0:56 GMT

MSD has found a new scapegoat - He's blaming the rules ! As if they did not apply evenly to both sides.

POSTED BY
here2rock
on | January 4, 2013, 0:42 GMT

Same old story that batsmen are not scoring runs. The solution, get the batmen in the side who can score runs. They have given more than enough chances. BTW just waiting for the Duncan Fletcher's contract to expire in March. If the madness in Indian Cricket continues then we will see someone extend it for another 3 years.

POSTED BY
ilovecricket1234
on | January 4, 2013, 0:41 GMT

If Dhoni was a good captain, he would have batted earlier. Just like everyone else, he cares more about himself and that's why he chose to bat lower in the order to prove his worth.

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 0:19 GMT

Don't understand the excuse "Indian batsmen have ruined their technique due to ipl/t20." Correct me if I'm wrong but don't all nations have players that play t20 all round the world nowadays?

POSTED BY
on | January 4, 2013, 0:16 GMT

1) Sehwag should find form in Ranji. Even though he made 30, he is not playing in form. Gambhir needs more form as well.
2) If a middle order batsman fails for more than 3 times then he has to dropped a game to help him find form.
3) More rotating strike.
4) Less franchise cricket.
5) Indians are failing a home... Goes on to show how bad our training for basics are at.

POSTED BY
indianpunter
on | January 3, 2013, 23:53 GMT

Thank god, Dhoni didnt say " lack of dew let us down". I am amazed at the bowling talent pakistan has at its disposal. Junaid could have got sehwag out 5 times in 5 overs. He is surely, one for the future. As far as team India goes, time for a purge, i 'd say...

POSTED BY
Alexk400
on | January 3, 2013, 23:40 GMT

Lets buy off duncan fletcher and send him home early. he is messing up everything.

POSTED BY
Nampally
on | January 3, 2013, 23:39 GMT

@anilkp: I am sorry but you have not answered by only question. How can Pujara be excluded from any Indian ODI XI when he is the best in-form batsman in India today (his Record proves it)? Who amongst the top 5 batsmen in the current ODI are any where near his record? You cannot call this "Top 5" of Indian batting. No wonder India lose with such gutless guys at the top. Dhoni needs to address this issue & get the REAL TOP 5 if India has any chance of being competitive. India faces England in ODI next.

POSTED BY
Al_Bundy1
on | January 3, 2013, 23:04 GMT

Drop the top 4 batsmen - Gambhir, Sehwag, and Kohli. Gambhir and Sehwag are done, while Kohli is out of form. Bring in Rahane and Jaffer as openers and Pujara at #3. Jaffer and Pujara can play the sheet anchor role while others can attack. Give Shami Ahmed a chance in place of Dinda or Kumar.

POSTED BY
shaz101
on | January 3, 2013, 23:01 GMT

Dhoni inns was such a selfish and irresponsible that he should be sacked for playing the 15 overs blocking balls. You never play the game to better your personal score and he did exactly that. Shame on you because the crowed came to see the result of game not his selfish inns.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 22:54 GMT

Big favor to Indian cricket by Pakistanis. Only if England can do the same in ODI series. May be then we can expect some sort of cleanup.

POSTED BY
anilkp
on | January 3, 2013, 22:51 GMT

Nampally, I agree that Dhoni should ask the selectors for his choices. I agree that only a brain-dead would have excluded Pujara from this squad. However, it is possible that Dhoni's call is ignored. Among the current captains, only Clarke has got the selectorial power. Besides, the subcontinental administrators are good in leaking confidential conversations out to the media. Imagine the kind of storm that would brew if it is out in the media that Dhoni wants Sehwag/Gautam sacked; even as no sane selector (barring in the talentless NZ) will continue with Gautam with his this sort of performance. Parthiv, Bangar, Badri, Jaffer are just a few who got too little chances compared to Gauti. We are still basking in the aura of his cretaceous-era glory. The bottomline is, currently there is no alternative to Dhoni, while fresh blood must be brought in. And, just a disclaimer: I am no fan of nobody (that is, "anybody" as they say in this part of the world).

POSTED BY
ak_dragon
on | January 3, 2013, 22:48 GMT

Too Much IPL n Money has ruined Indian Cricket. They've forget the Test & ODI technique, specially no one is willing to stay at wicket. Stop Blaming MSD, he did enough for indian cricket. The only difference b/w Pak & Indian Cricket is less T20 Stuff, Players are more focused on their basics & now see the results. India is not willing to accept their row talents like Pujara,M.Shami & etc. Being Pakistani, I reckon Misbah should step down now. Hafeez is ready to lead this young side for future big tours, Also We need to test Haris sohail & Anwar Ali for 3 ODI.
Go Green Shirts...Go...!

POSTED BY
womenlovecricket
on | January 3, 2013, 22:40 GMT

What is wrong with the people who wants MSD to retire as captain. A captain is only good as his team as the Indian openers are the worst in the history of Indian cricket. Both Gambhir and Sehwag should retire from all formats for a few months. Yuvraj should only play t20 and Rohit Sarma should be thrown out of ODIs and T20s - he has been given enough chances. MSD should still be captain in all formats because he is the only one who wants to play new and fresh players to prepare for the future but the oldies batsmen and the selectors are not giving the choice to decide. Why not include Rahane, Tiwary, M.Vijay,Chand in all of the formats for the next few games to see if there are any potentials? Vijay and Rahane will be brilliant openers in both ODIs and T20 and Tiwary and Chand are good in the middle orders instead of Yuvraj and Rohit Sarma. Still keep Ashwin,Ojha as spinners in all formats. The fast bowlers are doing the best they can so no need to change them.

POSTED BY
anilkp
on | January 3, 2013, 22:35 GMT

Sorry, Nampally, but I have to question you and several others who name their preferred line-ups. Do you seriously think for Sehwag? Despite his average and consistently inept performance? I know that, if in form, he will win matches single-handedly. But, how often does that happen? Can you tell us any remarkable score from him after that 219? Do you think an IPL success is the yard-stick for evaluating Test/ODI calibre? Earlier, national coaches and selectors used to watch domestic matches to shortlist and encourage new talents. Fletcher is never heard or seen. If one wants to know how to turn a team around for good, one should look at Flower and Inverarity as coach/selector. Read their interviews and articles about them, and then compare to what we have with Fletcher. I hope Patil turns out different from Vengy/Krish. First thing first: we need a coach who is seen and heard coaching his wards and searching new talents. And, yes, he should have independence of authority as well.

POSTED BY
Nampally
on | January 3, 2013, 22:10 GMT

@anilkp: I am asking of Dhoni is to stop excusing for failure of top batting order & replace them with in- form guys right now! Is this not Caotain's job to ask for the right players in the squad & in XI? Of course it is - he sits with the Selectors to pick the squad. The Selectors & Dhoni must be brain dead to exclude C.Pujara from this squad. He is the best Indian batsman who is in form & scored a double century + a century in 2 consecutive tests against England with a series average of 87. He also scored a Double century in Ranji Trophy match last week. If you do not include your best players in the XI & then moan about top order not performing- is it your REAL top order? Can anyone justify the dropping of Pujara from ODI's after his phenomenon performance against Anderson, Broad & Finn? Nobody in the cricinfo column has even questioned this. Now you tell me Dhoni gets it - If he gets it he will bring in Pujara right now. Nadeem is the best spinner in IPL & Ranji - why is he hidden?

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:59 GMT

anilkp and Ubaid... sensible comments. I always like Dhoni's thinking as a captain he keeps trying new things and if it fails people blame him and if its a success they just ignore him.
We need at the least one or two strike bowlers and one or two dependable batsman. I think Virat got unlucky today. We have to blame openers. But bowling was exceptional especially Ajmal.
Its not a rocket science if the openers haven't performed for last 20 matches (including tests) we should drop them and ask them to perform in domestic circuit.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:59 GMT

I dare the selectors to be bold and pick a fresh young team that is willing to learn the trade. Here is what I suggest:

Remove MSD as captain for one-dayers and T20's and make Yuvi the captain instead. Let MSD continue as Test captain on probation for may be another 6 months. Meanwhile, we can start looking for another Test captain and see if Virat can fit the bill.

POSTED BY
HyderabadiFlick
on | January 3, 2013, 21:53 GMT

@anilkp Your comments hold good only for ODIs & T20 or also for Test Cricket about Dhoni.His decline has started when he said that India is giving away 20 runs per match when Gambhir/Sehwag/Sachin are playing the same match. And, he forgot to handle the retirements of great cricketers like RSD, VVS & SRT well. Probably he does not like some people in the team and they won't get to play ODIs like Rahane. Now, KARMA is showing tricks.Dhoni grow up man. This is not street cricket. Your time is up even if you score a 200* in the next match. Plz Cricinfo publish.

POSTED BY
WaggaAussi
on | January 3, 2013, 21:52 GMT

The real culprit fro the indian slump is IPL (20-20 series). All the best batsmen they lost the stroke play because of new slotting style in 20-20. So the the responsible person for indian faulure in BCCI, who introduced IPL in indian continent. For Eg take Michael Clark or Alisterr Cook they don't play T20 because they want to be goodc batsman in Test (the real cricket).

POSTED BY
BlueSky212
on | January 3, 2013, 21:41 GMT

I am sick of indian captain,coach and selectors. Cant they change a player if not performing. I dont know what the secret energy behind Dhoni excuses,he never tired of throwing those as always ...

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:39 GMT

I just wonder when whole team fails, why everyone blames the captain, just as when any team wins then the best man is being rewarded.

I am Pakistani but personally I m a fan of Dhoni's skills be it as Captain, Wicket Keeping and As a Batsman. C;mon guys, what more do u expect from somebody who is giving his best shot in the ground. If rest of the team is not clicking then you just can't simply blame him for the collapse.

However, yes, when batsman get out of touch and as a matter of fact lose their confidence for a little time, that is why they are given some rest or being sent to play first class cricket to regain their form. The problem with our countries, both Pakistan and India, people become too egoistic and just dont want to get through the process, meaning, they lack professionalism on their account and so do the board, who doesn't take strict actions against non performing players, off course it will serve everyone in the long run.Furthermore, they should look for more talent

POSTED BY
anilkp
on | January 3, 2013, 21:32 GMT

Nampally, Dhoni does get it. What do you expect him to say? That he criticises his top order openly, and fuel all sorts of rumors? Gautam-Sehwag did that in Aus last year; and you know very well that it is unsportmanlike to do so. He knows the openers do not score; the middle usually does (Raina/Yuvraj) but has just failed; Kohli scores, but has failed. He knows the selectors dont have will/guts to drop the openers. He knows one thing for sure and he is doing it: score runs in difficult times. One can't also blame him for his go-slow; that is the only option when he finds himself in at 50/5. We can sit in our homes and criticize; the man in the middle has to take decisions. How can you dream of winning if your top order folds consistently within a fourth of the target? It is not his job but the selectors' to take tough decisions by chopping big names and bringing in motivated, promising, fresh faces.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:25 GMT

Well done to team Pakistan. Deserving winners. Jamshed and Junaid are gonna be superstars for them in the future. India just seems to sink lower and lower with every series. I see things getting worse before it gets better.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:14 GMT

Nodoubt, indian batting line up is very strong but Pakistani bowling is good enough to restrict them under 200.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 21:12 GMT

Stop blaming MSD for everything!He's doing the best he can as a batsman,wicketkeeper and a captain!He's the only one making runs that too at a good strike rate!If the majority of the team is not performing what can he do?!Sometimes i feel sorry for him,atleast in ODIs.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 20:50 GMT

Please don't say Dhoni brought world t20 (Misbaul bad shot-luck), world cup ODI 2011 (because yuvi's all round performance and Gauti's fighting knock in final-pakisthan bad fielding and Srilanka gambling in final), test ranking 1. India has good one day team and test team because of Ganguly and Anil Kumble respectively. He enjoyed the hard work of both of them and the team.
Dhoni is very smart fellow. Please Dhoni fans tell us any one player (either batsman or bowler) who got stable position in team under his captaincy. He rotated players so that he will be the main person in the team and also he eliminated seniors.
So called top order (four players-sehwag,gauti,yuvi,virat) is resonsible for the batting success of India.
I haven't seen any captain like Dhoni. Even captains of small country will not speak like him. Ex
1. After losing first match, his first sentence was "I am happy with my batting".
2. After second match, why he highlighted Kohli (because he will be captain in future).

POSTED BY
Pak117
on | January 3, 2013, 20:40 GMT

agree with ar.d's and Yasir's comments

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 20:37 GMT

our only hope in 2013 is with this ODI team,if this team dosen't perform,then indian cricket is dead for next 4-5 years:rahane,pujara,kohli,dhoni,yuvraj,raina,irfan(MUST OPEN THE BOWLING AND SWING THE BALL AND CONTRIBUTE WITH THE BAT WHEN REQUIRED),ASHWIN(he has to be a bowler who can bat coz there are no other decent spinners in the country),YADAV(for his pace and wicket taking ability at any point of d match),ISHANT(for his accuracy and seam movement),DINDA(for his aggression,bowling yorkers & slowers balls).reserves:ROHIT(SUPER TALENTED),TIWAARY,B.KUMAR/P.KUMAR/V.KUMAR,SPINNER(which isnt any at the moment).

BUT PLZ SELECTORS GET RID OF SEHWAG,GAMBHIR AND JADEJA,THEY ARE THE MAIN REASON FOR INDIA'S BAD PERFORMANCE AFTER WORLD CUP.

POSTED BY
RameshRayaprolu
on | January 3, 2013, 20:21 GMT

I am not expecting any surprises this year, and India might even go down to no#7 or #8 in all formats of the game....no other cricketing nation has earlier performed this bad and inconsistently within 1 year of a world cup win...

I understand its transition phase for test cricket, but other formats?? one heavy win is not a compensation for one heavy loss, or vice-versa...we are looking at consistency Mr. Dhoni not losses.....and that is not happening these days...something is terribly wrong with Indian cricket team...

Its time for Indian cricket to go back and sleep, don't play any cricket for the country for the next 5 years...! I feel disgusting to say this, but it has to be true, because this doesn't seem to be the world champ team an year back (or 1 and 1/2 years)...

POSTED BY
ar.d.
on | January 3, 2013, 20:16 GMT

It seems like the post is going towards ProDhoni vs AntiDhoni debate.
I can't agree more of his importance in the team as a wk/batsman (again, at test level its still debatable, but he is still better than any other option at the position). Also, sacking him as a captain doesn't solve all the issues overnight either. But then, there is a word called 'accountability' which our Indian mindset tend to forget mostly. Just because we don't see a sureshot answer to the issue, we can't accept the mediocre present. And no excuse of ODI WC CHAMP, please. It was collectively team effort, Dhoni got his due accolades and its been almost 2 years since... How about keeping Kapil going since he won 1983 WC for us.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 20:15 GMT

Dhoni keeps scoring on ODIs and T20,in test he may not have good technic,but he is still better WK batsman in India,In ODI his
avg is 52..what he can do alone?????

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 20:13 GMT

Pakistan is still weaker team than India. I am Pakistani and I am saying that because Indian bowlers were able to click at the other half of the inning and were able to contain Pakistan. Just because conditions and new rules favored Pakistan to certain extent, it doesn't mean Indian team is weaker.
I believe Indian team overall is going through a down time as they did during 2005, however, within a year they were able to recover and found their confidence again. I believe same thing will happen soon once they are through with this down time.
Just top 4 batsmen of Indian team has enough fire power to handle score of 250. Pakistani batsmen are still very weak comparatively. They are enjoying playing against Indian team they are struggling with self confidence and a home venue pressure.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 20:10 GMT

Anyway...Now just do one thing...It is not too late yet...Bring Back SACHIN

POSTED BY
shohag23
on | January 3, 2013, 20:07 GMT

I don't get the point off why some people blaming Dhoni.As a wicketkeeper he hasn't dropped any catches or missed stamping chances.He used his bowlers quite effeciently to restrict pakistan for 250 even though a good opening stand of 141.It was the "so called" stong batting line up that cost both the matches.As a batsman he has done his job 116 and 54 and unbeaten in both occassions.Whatelse can be asked to a skipper?Shewag shouldn't be in the team.How could the world cricket talks about Shewag so much?Whereas as a opening batsmen he has average of only 35+.And still they they call him genious?Same goes to Ravindra Jadeja,Rohit Sharma.India should not pick Shewag,Jadeja,Rohit Sharma for their next series.Bring back Jaheer Khan,Harbajan,RP Singh.Dinda,and Ishant should not be here as well.Murali Bijoy is much better than Shewag.His time is just over.

POSTED BY
Nampally
on | January 3, 2013, 20:02 GMT

Dhoni just doesn't get it. His present team will lose 10 out of 10 against this Pakistani side.MSD, see your own deficiencies & address them. India relied upon Kohli's batting as the centre piece in all ODI wins during past 15 months. Now he is out of form & there is no one in the top order to be the sheet anchor. If India does not get Pujara IN, they will get hammered again- this time by even bigger margin. Pujara is in form & is confident. The present batsmen are totally demoralised. New guys badly needed. 5 Reliable batsmen + 5 Reliable Bowlers +Dhoni - that is the formula. Batsmen: Sehwag, Rahane, Pujara, Kohli & Raina - Bowlers: Ishant, B.Kumar, Shami, Ashwin & Nadeem. There are 2 guys who are not in the squad - Pujara & Nadeem - all others are in the squad. Pujara, Dhoni & Kohli bat #'s 3,4,5. This way 3 out of top 5 are guys in form- no free pass for the pakistani bowlers. India should play in-form players to come back.Nadeem is an excellent IPL+ Ranji boweler.

POSTED BY
ar.d.
on | January 3, 2013, 19:45 GMT

It's simple. We need an overhaul, in every department, every format. I don't mean to ask for whole team to be replaced, but it seems the accountability has gone, totally. Dhoni and Fletcher needs to take responsibility or forced to step down. Seniors who hasn't performed for a while now, has to be asked to go back to Domestic levels with clear guidelines where they need to improve. e.g. Sehwag can't get away saying 'i enjoy the sound of bat hitting the ball' and get out irresponsibly most of the times. And so on, for every individual, 'detailed assesment'. Replacements needs to be picked on merits and not the 'quota' system that BCCI will deny of doing, but its like saying I am Amitabh Bachchan. And those who are picked needs to be given a fair amount of chance. And so on..
But then again, this is India, this is BCCI and the abovementioned is 'too simple'.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 19:40 GMT

Dhoni had a hundred and a fifty. How exactly is he to get any of the blame when the top order failed?

POSTED BY
BlueSky212
on | January 3, 2013, 19:29 GMT

@Cpt.Meanster now pls dont give so many excuses. Mr.Old Man had the right technique and passion thats why we are so successful in past.Current team has no tech to play swing/fast deliveries.So it's always been less win/more loss scenario case in future.you shd keep ur expectation less :)
Mr.Dhoni - Why cant you come top of the order if it's failing or as opener(I know u cant survive) rather than sitting duck behind.Pls now dont give excuse like have to do WK whole day. We knw gilly played as a opener and did wk too thats way better than you.So pls atleast play at number 4 otherwise it's of no use.We want see ur wc final knock is also fluke LOL.

It's better to kick everyone out all these old players and make a fresh young T-20 and ODI team. Kick non-performer or the one who cant play bouncers bcase now they have to play 2/over like sehwag/gauti/dhoni/yuvi/raina/rohit/jadeja -
Dhoni - remove from captaincy for sure with his friends/coach.

POSTED BY
Swampy5
on | January 3, 2013, 19:26 GMT

So let's get this straight -in the last two ODIs the Indian top order has produced 5/29 and 5/95...and apparently for some it's all Dhoni's fault. I suppose it's easier to scapegoat Dhoni instead of the addressing the more difficult long-term task of rebuilding the batting line-up (beginning with replacing the unfit, self-indulgent and long out of form opening pair) and bringing in young players with the right attitude. Are these constant Dhoni critics really serious in thinking that sacking him as captain will actually do anything to make the top-order stronger?

POSTED BY
Alexk400
on | January 3, 2013, 19:16 GMT

We gave too much credit to dhoni when india was winning and now when it is losing we blaming everyone but dhoni. Either the fans brains needs to be checked. I find dhoni is center of all the problem along with coach. The minute he took over , teams was in a tumble down to bottom of the pile. What it say is india do not need brainy coach or technical guru or stragey master mind. What india need is a foreign coach who can different parties from different region to play for single goal. To win. The minute dhoni claimed he won the world cup , he showed his true colors. His team played for him and he abandoned them and took full credit. But now losses mounting , it is always someone else except him. Dhoni lost his leadership qualities that inspired others to play out of the skin. He provided safety net in that sense he covered any problem that comes up. At present he is looking for next scapegoat for his next loss. India will never win again under dhoni. Abdandon the ship.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 19:15 GMT

Uh, he says the rules are hurting his strategy to play a fifth part timer, which is why he needs a solid all rounder. How is that making an excuse that justifies this loss? He DID play an allrounder today. Also, why is Dhoni being singled out as 'Mr Excuse'? Gambhir, Kohli and Sehwag had a bag full of them when they toured Australia and England last year.

Dhoni's the man to lead India. He has a World Cup under his belt for the love of god. What more does a man need to appease his fans? We won because we bowled a lot better tonight, it was a good day for us. Get over it, stop blaming the one man who seems to be in good nick!

POSTED BY
FRRR
on | January 3, 2013, 19:14 GMT

Pakistan rocks .... We have once again proved that Pakistan is a better cricket side as compared to India.

POSTED BY
scorbos15
on | January 3, 2013, 19:13 GMT

Dhoni - You are the best ever man to lead Indian Cricket - maintaining dignity in adversity, your words interms of failures, leading a team when not performing - keeping the team together, fighting lone battle, your focus, your hardwork inspite of not being the so called great technician batsmen, accumulating runs after runs in ODI's - people may critize you for every failure of a team, but by miles you are the best bet to captain Indian cricket..( I only think of one exception though, backing Rohit Sharma for so long, could understand your logic to give enough chances but may be a bit more for this guy, I wouldnt take names but guess there are enough hardworking youngsters waiting for one chance to show their steel), I wish you all the best hope to see you turning the tide soon for Indian cricket, what you havent given to India which none of other captains gave, World Cup 2011, World Cup T20, Chennai IPL2, Test Ranking 1, Champions Trophy, above all your calm approach..hats off...

POSTED BY
Charlie101
on | January 3, 2013, 19:11 GMT

The Pakistan series is ODI lost and it will be interesting to see if India experiment or not with the team . India need a new opening partnership and have to bite the bullet and drop the old guard ( gambir and Sehwag ) but I have a feeling that there will not be any dramatic changes . i guess that the Duncan Fletcher and Dhoni will gamble that they can win the last game against Pakistan and then win the series against England as our bowling will not be as strong as the test team therefore papering over the cracks.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 19:10 GMT

Why people are blaming Dhoni alwys !! when the team itself is not performing. He can't take the team alone , all have to team up and unit together and show that they want to do it.... Blaming DHONI just bcz INDIA loosing streak is not getting over. When he brough the WORLD CUP and made india no.1 test team, then no one thought of sacking him . Now when team itself is not performing DHONI is coming in picture. Sack Gambhir , Shewag , Rohit and bring Rahane ,Raydu ,Manoj Tiwari who are waiting for there chance to come but still coz of des non performers they are not getting chance. BCCI should think more than the STARS . It's time for a turn around in INDIAN cricket and
there must be harsh selection thn only team can do well or else Only fame will not solve anything they need to play the real GAME aswell.. Apart from all this
other than DHONI there is no one in the team who deserves or can handle the responsibly at this crisis time. We required CAPTAIN COOL to be in palce.

POSTED BY
SAF-Fan-no-1
on | January 3, 2013, 19:08 GMT

More I.P.L making Indian player disgust. Predicted England will win the series in India - May Pakistan will win clean sweep. Indian TOP Order up to six has to go.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 19:07 GMT

Well well here goes another excuse by captain Cool.If batting is such a failure what has he done to prevent or improve nothing a big zero.For all those praising Dhoni saying he hit a century and a fifty let me ask you guys if he was so good in form and knew his team batting is failing why didnt he promote himself up the order steady the ship and try to win and why did he bat so low when he sees sehwag and gauti he should have batted at 3 or 4 if he was really so concerned and the way how he played today selfishly for his 50 showed what he was.All those geniuses who are wanting Duncan's head how much can a coach turn the fortunes.For today's match Team India arrives at Eden in 3 batches after enjoying new year parties and having fun and skip practice while pak being 1-0 ahead come in early and practice whole day on game day do basic drills and play football if u dont practice or prepare how will u win matches all u can do is pile up excuses after excuses like dhoni does

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 19:05 GMT

Taking your helmet wont cure your headache!!!!!
MS Dhoni is doing well!!!
It is time we should relook into our resource... What the top is doing dere, wat they are capable! even if captancy is given to them??? rahane, tiwary, other good players cud come in.
BCCI

POSTED BY
rp1106
on | January 3, 2013, 19:02 GMT

It was easy to blame Rohit for the losing the 1st ODI but what happened in the second one. It's not just one person, it's a collective failure. Sehwag is not performing for last 2 years but he is still getting chances. Gambhir is also gone off boil for a while now. Dhoni's love for Jadeja continues. Team needs some major changes. The top order needs to be changed. If Dhoni wants to continue with Sehwag then bring him in the middle order for few matches and the see his performance. GET rid of Jadeja, please.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:55 GMT

i dont understand why selectors keep on picking rohit sharma again n again , that guy has played about 80 matches and averages just about 30 with any outstanding knock of any sorts . Shami ahmed must be included in the next match in place of ravinder jadeja who again has been a super flop at the international level . Dhoni needs a allrounder then why doesnt he goes back to irfan pathan . Rahane must get a chance in the next match so should Amit mishra and Shami Ahmed in place of Sehwag , Jadeja and Ashok dinda with dhoni batting at 4 and yuvraj dropping a place and 6th for raina 7th for ashwin thus providing some resistance from 1 end and giving a chance for players like yuvi and raina to get back to their form.

POSTED BY
Cpt.Meanster
on | January 3, 2013, 18:52 GMT

I also would like to add that Dhoni needs to shut up with his pathetic excuses. ENOUGH ! We don't need to hear your excuses any more. Stop blaming the ICC rules and pitch and weather conditions when it your useless bowlers and batsmen that cost our country this series. This is the END for Dhoni. I can't see him continuing as captain any longer. Also, Fletcher WILL be sacked before the Australia series. The old man has brought so much shame and embarrassment to India that it's a miracle he's survived this long. We don't need old white guys to coach our team. Our Indian ex-players need to take up the responsibility to guide the team at this difficult time.

POSTED BY
whippingBails
on | January 3, 2013, 18:50 GMT

It very clear Dhoni is not the problem. India needs solid starts with openers taking on the bowlers. Ghambir looks totally lost. His footwork is missing and he is struggling to stay. Sehwag needs some confidence from the other side, looking at Ghambir he is not getting it. So Ghambir needs to go. Dhoni should use this opportunity to bring a new team, if not he will be pushed out by the politicians. There is also no sting in the bowling, though I did like Ishant taking up leadership role, he seems to blossoming well. The next match India plays for pride.

On the Pakistan's side, their younger bowlers have confidence, great sight to watch as a cricket fan. Still I would like to see a Sehwag in full flow and rate their confidence level after that.

POSTED BY
Nampally
on | January 3, 2013, 18:49 GMT

Dhoni says we have experienced batting- then why did it fail? The answer is simple. Most of these batsmen are ill equiped Vs.seaming ball. Sehwag is one guy who can score but he is out of form. Raina & Yuvraj were always weak against pace. Gambhir is always out fishing & Kohli is out of form. The guy who has the right technique & is in form is Pujara. Get him in the side before India gets white washed even by Pakistan!. Pakistani batting is weak but against good steady bowling.Get Nadeem - a good bowler. Yadev if fit will be other guy to replace Dinda, who is too expensive. If Yadev is still unfit get Shami Ahmad. Indian batting after openers should be #3 Pujara, #4Kohli, #5Dhoni, #6 Yuvraj/Raina, #7 Ashwin, followed by 4 bowlers. If Tiwary is fit,, #6 spot should go to him. Sehwag & Rahane are better openers facing 2 LH fast bowlers. This team needs drastic changes in batting & bowling to be competitive. Present team will not perform. It is insane to go with same.

Sehwag & Rahane

POSTED BY
CSKlover
on | January 3, 2013, 18:47 GMT

It is so easy and childish to blame dhoni for everything wrong with the team.. The man has to not only keep wickets,herd his bowlers, score most of the teams runs but also bear the blame when the "superstar" batsmen fail against good consistent bowling... But the strength of the man shines through when he says that he will not quit when the team is in trouble.. Hats off captain cool... It is so easy to be the captain of a performing team.. not everyone can steer a ship when all its oars are rowing in different directions

POSTED BY
likeintcricket
on | January 3, 2013, 18:47 GMT

India's slump in form is not a hidden secret. They are slowly coming out of the trauma that they are #1 in each format and their batting is all time great. Tendulakar and co were great but they have to bult the future team around Dhoni and Kohli and youger generation. pakistan on the other hand hsould not forget that they have a real test ahead against a much better side on their own home ground. Pakistan have started their march upward against SA at UAE and now it is their real Test.

POSTED BY
karan8300
on | January 3, 2013, 18:44 GMT

I think, Sandip Patil & Co should look for a new Team. Dhoni may be the captain in One day but Both the openers should go back to play Ranji matches. They have no right to play one dayers. Ajinka Rahane, Badrinath, Cheteshar Pujara are available. Bisla is good in short format. So man Why are you giving chances for the old Gauti ans Shehwag? Ashwin is ridiculas in slip area..........

POSTED BY
Godhelpus
on | January 3, 2013, 18:41 GMT

We are all so bored with those clowns who should be playing for their village cricket teams rather than for the Indian nation . Look at Pakistan , they want to win , they are a determined team who have so much talent and India, they are an embarassment.
Dhoni's press conferences are ridiculous, he should get rid of people like Sehwag and the other jokers.

Look at how we have been thrashed by Australia, England and Pakistan, we have been humiliated. Our selectors are a pathetic bunch who lack any intelligence.

POSTED BY
Cpt.Meanster
on | January 3, 2013, 18:39 GMT

@TrexTrainer: Sorry buddy. I DO NOT miss the old man. In fact, I bet Sachin would have done ZERO in this match to win the game for India. As much as a great player he was, he was never a match winner when it truly mattered. Sad but true.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:36 GMT

No need to panic as such!
Indian ODI team is good enough not much changes needed,just a few-

Pujara(for stability needed after Sachin's/Dravid's exit at the top),Rahane(enough of Sehwag's failure,Rahane has 1st class avg of 65+) in,Sehwag,Gambhir out

U.Yadav(he is the best 'fast' bowler of India currently) /Praveen Kumar(he is good with swing and slower/yorkers at death better than Dinda anyday)/Zaheer/Munaf in,Dinda(he gets only lucky wickets,when batsman are trying to hit out,not beating the batsman by his guile) out.
Also Irfan/Yusuf in,Jadeja(he is of no use seriously,at one end u r playing him as a no. 6 batsman in Test,and at the other end in ODI u r telling he is only a bowler who bats a bit:O) out!

POSTED BY
ImpressiveTeer
on | January 3, 2013, 18:34 GMT

Get rid of the coach before its too late!

There is enough technique and experience in the side.. Whats missing is the decilpline and hunger to perform based on which we won the WC.

Leave all the politics aside and Bring on Kapil Dev as coach. We need that "junoon" and selflessness... to do something for the country.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:30 GMT

I think ining dhoni played our misbah can play 100 time and we normaly blaming him most of all i mean if some 1 stay in crease till end req run rate was 5.5 when he came in and he remain not out and req run rate was over 40 forgot about all team out from other end so its shows the chracter of the person and nation dhoni was knew it if he stuck and made 50 no body will blame him and so thats hapening an way for me dhoini is responsible for this lose for me any other good striker of ball atleast can try to win this match so defintaly indian cricket is not in right direction

POSTED BY
Cpt.Meanster
on | January 3, 2013, 18:29 GMT

Mr. Dhoni is clearly not using his brain. It's not only the top order failures. It's also the BOWLING ! When will he realize this ? I do agree about the fact that over 70% of India's defeats since the world cup in 2011 have been MAINLY due to Gambhir and Sehwag not providing good starts in both tests and ODIs. If we all remember properly, when India became no.1 in test cricket, a lot of that was to do with the solid starts provided by the Indian openers. Indian batting thrives on solid starts. They don't have a match winner of the calibre of Dravid or Azharuddin any more to calm the nerves. It's time to take a new approach. It's time to sack Dhoni as captain and Fletcher as coach. India have only kept losing ever since Fletcher took over. We need a new coach. The BCCI should talk to Ganguly or Anil Kumble to see if they can help our team. Lastly, it's time to drop Sehwag and Gambir permanently from all formats. In their place a few youngsters should be given chance.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:28 GMT

overall bad performance drop sehwag immediately he is worst now

POSTED BY
Sunny_Reuben
on | January 3, 2013, 18:28 GMT

I wonder what kind of penalty Team coach has for a Senior player not performing for continuous 5 games. Duncan Fletcher seems to be the Man behind the Shades (glasses). Identify Young Talent and give them 2 more years for the next world cup - The Purana Chawal (Rice) is not working we need new Chawal (Rice) and hope they turn purana by WC 2015 in Australia.

Can we please start with re-vamping players from the recently U-19 world cup team especially Sandeep Sharma and Baba Aparajith.

Let's select Harpeet Singh and Ishvar Pandey from the MP Ranji team, Parvez Rasool from J&K Ranji Team, Robin Bist from Rajasthan Ranji Team and few of U-25 players from Himachal Ranji team. Try out all the All-Rounders from each Ranji team and check out if you hit gold. Abhishek Nayar puts more than 200% in the field.

At least - try these guys - its worth Risk taking - we are fed up looking at failures of the same guys.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:27 GMT

@Sidhartha Sahoo: Good Morning sir.

POSTED BY
sdpervez
on | January 3, 2013, 18:24 GMT

I think the Indian public is really unfair to DHONI, if you look at it from his perspective he works the hardest in the team, both ODIs was by far the best batsman in the team. What i think needs to be done is rest Sehwag , Gambhir , Kohli (he became a star too soon and i think its getting to his head) and bring in Players like Rahane, Pujara and Manoj Tiwari who are being wasted in the dugout, I would also go as far as resting Yuvraj Singh and bring Yousuf pathan back in and lastly I would request Dhoni to change his tactic of trying to bring in 7 batsman instead I would take 4 genuine bowlers 5 batsmen and 1 all rounder. This i the team I would suggest :
Rahane , Gambhir, Manoj Tiwari, Dhoni (he needs to come up the order),Raina, Yusuf Pathan, RAshwin, Praveen Kumar / Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda, B Kumar, Ishant Sharma and keep one genuine spinner as back up based on pitch conditions.

POSTED BY
TrexTrainer
on | January 3, 2013, 18:21 GMT

Guess all those naysayers are all missing Sachin now.

POSTED BY
Texmex
on | January 3, 2013, 18:20 GMT

Two years ago there would have been a 99% chance that India would have chased 250 down. Indian batting has become so bad it is unbelievable. One of Gambhir/sehwag needs to be sent to Ranji. Yuvi has never been good against pace bowling when the wicket is doing a bit.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:17 GMT

Stop blamimg dhoni , he can't teach sehwag , gambhir or other player how to play cricket , and if u think gambhir take captaincy you wrong ,in ipl he is in form but now ?so first remove coach

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:12 GMT

A captain's place must be secure in the team, Gambhir's is not in any format. His and sehwag's performances have bought india down again and again, not to mention thieir lack of footwork makes them incapable of handling the new ball

POSTED BY
reality_check
on | January 3, 2013, 18:11 GMT

Indian fans can blame Dhoni and Dhoni in turn can blame the pitch, weather and the solar cycles but the fact is that Pakistan outplayed India in both matches in bowling and batting. Consistency is a rare thing for Pakistan and that too against India but it's a good sign for Pakistan cricket to show consistency at the right time. Too much of T20 glitter in IPL has killed Indian cricket. SA won't be as easy as India so let's see how the team green does against them.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:10 GMT

i still doesn't understand why people are against dhoni. he did scored a century in the last game and a unbeaten fifty in this one. it is the team that letting him down. he got a handful of bowlers to play with. tough he got strong batsman but batsman like sehwag and UV are not willing to put the efforts as they used to do. they are great talent there is no doubt about it but they have to put more effort. and the bowlers dhoni has are pretty useless too. that was due to lack of producing quality bowlers by india

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:07 GMT

not only top order but middle order has failed as well. i think they should give sehwag and ghambir 1 more game and that is it then simply drop them if they are not working. why are they in the team ... also need to sort the position where jadeja played today. Rahane is so much good player but sitting on bench and jadeja gets in?

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 18:01 GMT

Its the time when Mr. Dhoni should step down from captaincy. all we need to understand is that a good positive captaincy & a good team effort is required for a WIN, nor a GOOD LUCK.

POSTED BY
Batmanindallas
on | January 3, 2013, 17:59 GMT

I dont want to be in Dhoni's shoes. He has a team not sure how much he owns it and how much is thrust upon me. The team has so many demi gods who cannot be dropped and who's motivation levels are in inverse proportion to their status. So a Sehwag will always play even though we know a Rahane today is a far better player, or Virat's performance has gone south but then he was ICC champ last year or Gambhir who is ambitious but has done nothing of note over two years. So winning that can wait

POSTED BY
Hash_Tag
on | January 3, 2013, 17:59 GMT

Dhoni, man I am tired oh so tired of reading your excuses... the one about part-time bowlers and fielders inside the circle... and then the one about dew.... any excuse will do.... And Mr Dhoni your innings was itself the epitome of desperation. So for this please go away and take your excuses with you. I am sick of reading it every time.

POSTED BY
Paghalaya
on | January 3, 2013, 17:58 GMT

Highly disappointed by Indian team's performance. I bet if you provide half of the amenities what Team India has, Zimbabwe will top the table for sure.
Every match India plays, Dhoni nor any captain has got some kind of excuses. A major surgery to the team is inevitable. Team India should come outside their winning hallucinations of WC 2011. Its highly likely that current Indian players are moulding themselves for IPL or T20s, not to be part of any other format.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 17:55 GMT

'We are a good fielding side, but we have to bowl well and develop'. Dhoni's nonsense reaches new heights.

POSTED BY
Mauzz
on | January 3, 2013, 17:48 GMT

it is cricket so triumph or loss . If anyone is cricket fan then he must have patience to accept it . But at this point of time , some squad youngsters must get chance to prove their importance to b in squad .

POSTED BY
VickGower
on | January 3, 2013, 17:44 GMT

And also wondrous to see one ask for Dhoni's sacking, and for making Gambhir the captain instead. Has there been a more incomprehensible statement? It is precisely the failing of Gambhir/Sehwag duo that has gutted this Indian team in transition. With the retiring of the big guns of Indian cricket, these were the next two experienced guys who were supposed to shepherd the Indian youngsters through this period of transition. Look what they have done. No shame. None.

POSTED BY
SwingReverse
on | January 3, 2013, 17:43 GMT

I think Dhoni is being criticized for the wrong reasons. Indian batsmen have not been the same since winning the World Cup. Gambhir and Sehwag are losing wickets cheaply, leaving Kohli, Yuvraj and Raina under pressure. Dhoni is the only shining light in that camp at the moment. Over in Pakistan, bowlers are clicking at the right time and seems like Jamshed is shaping up to be an excellent opener. I hope Anwar and others are given a chance in the final match, instead of the expensive Irfan.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 17:42 GMT

I do not understand why Irfan is not playing, is he injured?

POSTED BY
VickGower
on | January 3, 2013, 17:38 GMT

Funny to see the fans criticizing the only player who has performed with heart and guts and composure. I think the Indian fans are out of form too. I pity the day Dhoni scores a double century in ODI because that will be the day when the critics take the streets for Dhoni's firing.

POSTED BY
LeftBrain
on | January 3, 2013, 17:36 GMT

I think the problem is , Dhoni, and India talk too much and do too little, instead of repeating it thousands of time that batsmen are not performing, Dhoni should go back to drawing board and devise an alternate strategy using DIFFERENT batsmen.............. worth a try? hust sayin!!!

@ Vivek Singh on (January 03 2013, 17:13 PM GMT) you wont understand mate, it is about sportsman spirit. Kind of alien thing for Dhoni, and may be some other people too!!

@ Cricketfan08 on (January 03 2013, 16:59 PM GMT) man, conditions were good for bowling, problem is India doesnt have good bowlers to exploit any condition (I think this is the only way words Exploitation and Indian bowling can be used in one sentence)

Can't understand the problem with this guy..now he is blaming the new ODI rules. He is still in denial mode..

POSTED BY
IAS2009
on | January 3, 2013, 17:23 GMT

The game was over by 20th over when India were playing, Pakistan bowlers won both game for their team, look at stats from Hafeez, in 2 ODI he conceded less than 50 in 20 overs. others chip is with good performance too. India lost the game in batting in first 10 over in 1st ODI and in first 20 in 2nd ODI. Dhoni will have to give excuses for loss what else he can do. If same players are in all formats it is hard to expect from them to win all the time. India need specialists for each format. At least there will be other than Dhoni to give excuse in case of loss.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 17:18 GMT

For a change Dhoni could do with a bit of praise and acknowledgment for the opposition instead of lame excuses. In general the attitude of indian cricketers these days leaves a lot to be desired. Compare how Younis Khan left the ground after being hard done by with Yuvraj in this match or Kohli in the 2nd T20. This is why I as a staunch Pakistan supporter loved Sachin. Besides his legendary performances he had a lot of respect of the game and for the opposition. This Indian setup is all arrogance and will not gain any support from anyone outside India.

POSTED BY
Ha8rick
on | January 3, 2013, 17:17 GMT

Dhoni has become "Dhoni" from all the sponsorship, etc. that he has no mind and heart in the game. When will the GREAT BCCI make some tough decisions starting with dropping Dhoni as a captain. Make Gambhir the Captain as he has showed his leadership in the IPL last year. Groom Kohli as the Vice Captain. BCCI administration needs a big change. Get the Politics out of Cricket. This is becoming just like the 90's.

POSTED BY
Sanket2323
on | January 3, 2013, 17:16 GMT

I guess.. its time to change the coach... there is continuing failure from the past 1.5 years.... now selectors have to re-visit each and every thing... changing captain at this stage can make situation more worse.. no captain is good enuf if you have bowlers like ishant, dinda in the playing XI. Also, sehwag and Gambhir needs some rest now... firstly change the coach, ask Sachin Tendulkar to become the batting coach for atleast a year.. this will keep him in tune with Indian team - making him fit for test. Get the bowlers like Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan back... Now India Should develop the habit of playing with 5 genuine bowlers unless they have good all rounders... also, Rahane, Pujara, Tiwary should be given opportunities like Rohit Sharma and piyush chawla (tell you these are seriously gone cases). Get a bowlers coach.. ashwin should be dropped.. if you dont have a good spinner at domestic (get harbhajan back).

The first sentence from Dhoni's post macth statement ""I think the bowlers brought us back in the game", and the last sentence "we are a good fielding side, but we have to bowl well and develop." It sounds like gibergaber. It abolutely makes no sense. Who in the right mind would say that its a good fielding side. He is gonna make a wonderful adminstrator.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 17:11 GMT

Misbah, should retire now. Pakistan is lucky that India is screwing up. They can't win against Aus or RSA with this kind of batting display. Hafeez has shown that he can lead.

POSTED BY
cric_follower
on | January 3, 2013, 17:06 GMT

Time for some changes. Time to try our young blood. Why are Pujara and Rahane there for.

POSTED BY
NCP1
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

Instead of complaining, Dhoni should bat up the order and make some changes in batting line up, include couple of young players and play positive cricket. Under Ganguly India always played positive one day games with Saurav and Sachin coming up front and later Sehwag. Coach is useless as the results have shown, India seem to be playing very defensive cricket and can't hope to win this way. Pakistan is playing positive cricket and the team look balanced and very strong, most likely 3-0 defeat for India.

POSTED BY
Captainman
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

This team can't even dominate at home should play with associates like Ireland and Afghanistan who can probably beat India with ease at this moment, India are no match for our Pakistan team.

POSTED BY
sss_m19
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

Dhoni telling the top order is failling again and again is not going to help anybody..u can do the changes..but u don't...

POSTED BY
Cricketfan08
on | January 3, 2013, 16:59 GMT

I think it is unjust to ciriticise the top order batsmen only for this loss. I think Dhoni totally unread the conditions. It was a bat first wicket as the curator also said. Only Dhoni thought that the condition for good for seam. I think he must have realised after 2 balls of the first over what a mess he has made after winning the toss. The ball wasn't swining and there were no "conditions to exploit". He gave the best condition batting pitch to the Pakistan opening pair and they made the most of it. The pitch started to deteriorate quickly in the second half of Pakistan innings and ball was getting harder to hit. India would have had to bat out of their skins to get 250 chasing (I said that at half time). Full credit to Pakistan for yet another clinical win. The T20s provided great competitive cricket. The ODIs (supposedly Pakistan's weakest form) have been totally one-sided.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 16:59 GMT

WHoa Dhoni !!! Till when will we suffer this disappointing and disgusting batting failure leading to defeats in matches.What have sehwag ever done ? and why does he still get a chance at the expense of tremendous talent in form of rahane. We need responsible cricketers not some conglomerates who run their business aside in form of ads and IPLs.
And Why doesn't the selection committee take stern decisions ?

POSTED BY
nahmedit
on | January 3, 2013, 16:55 GMT

I think India should quit Test and ODI and should play T20 only. T20 destroys India's Test and ODI performance. India could not stand against Pak in last 2 ODIs which is really sad. Very very bad performance from India after world cup.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 16:52 GMT

In the 90s,when Sachin was out India was out.Probably even the man didn't expect same scenario coinciding his retirement.When is the IPL auction happening BTW?

POSTED BY
Alexk400
on | January 3, 2013, 16:45 GMT

Mr Excuse recycling excuses. Lets predict his next excuse after next game loss. He always has answer. He might infuriate all cricket fans with his Vanilla answers but he has god father N srinivasan protecting him , so he don't care. He can mumble and we have to listen to this loser. he is a loser for me. I know cricket is a team game. He was once great leader inspired his team to play. I think the reason indian team not playing well because they do not have any goals. 2015 long way to go. Its kinda leadership struggle. With dhoni taking credit for wins and blaming losses on their top order batsman , he pisses off the hands that feeds him win. Dhoni needs to be dropped completely from Test and T20. He is still good in ODI but i rather have complete new team under kohli getting prepared for 2015 world cup. With kohli given more selection option so he will be responsible if india loses early in 2015 world cup. I think its time to blood youngsters and drop sehwag , gambhir , yuvi, dhoni.

POSTED BY
LeftBrain
on | January 3, 2013, 16:45 GMT

so Dhoni, no praise for Pakistani bowlers, eh? It is always weather or pitch or condition of the ball, or umpiring or injuries or timing of the match, (bad pitcj because too early start, bad dew because too late start!!)................. but never ever it is because the opposition team played better cricket, they outplayed your team, they were too good for your bowlers and too good for your batsmen........ there is a thing called sportsman spirit and decent captains from decent teams have it!!!

POSTED BY
ListenToMe
on | January 4, 2013, 7:46 GMT

I think the rotation policy India tries is completely wrong. They play an inexperienced player for one or two games and if he does not perform he will be thrown out and another inexperienced will be tried out. This is COMPLETELY wrong. They need to rest their senior players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Yuvraj etc keeping the seniors to be a minimum and then give chance to youngsters in as many games as possible. Since the series is lost already my suggestion is to try out as many youngsters as possible in the next game. My eleven would be:

Guys lets look at things in the right perspective instead of being emotional and upset. True as a passionate Indian Cricket fan I also feel upset over our teams dismal performances. The hard fact is Indian Cricket is in bad shape since we toured England last year. We have lost 8 test matches in a row and a home series against England. Have there been any major changes, major reviews by the board? None whatsoever. Bhajji was dropped after the England debacle Dravid and Laxman retired after the Australia tour. Other than that we have been playing mostly the same batting line up. Guys like Rahane, Tiwary and Chand are raw but atleast one could give them a chance. Bowling resources are a major worry I really dont understand Dhonis reluctance to try newcomers like Shami Ahmed in fact Aaron Varun didnt play a single ODI in the England tour when he was fit and raring. Dhoni prefers Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Jadeja,Chawla thats where I think he is wrong.

POSTED BY
LeftBrain
on | January 3, 2013, 16:45 GMT

so Dhoni, no praise for Pakistani bowlers, eh? It is always weather or pitch or condition of the ball, or umpiring or injuries or timing of the match, (bad pitcj because too early start, bad dew because too late start!!)................. but never ever it is because the opposition team played better cricket, they outplayed your team, they were too good for your bowlers and too good for your batsmen........ there is a thing called sportsman spirit and decent captains from decent teams have it!!!

POSTED BY
Alexk400
on | January 3, 2013, 16:45 GMT

Mr Excuse recycling excuses. Lets predict his next excuse after next game loss. He always has answer. He might infuriate all cricket fans with his Vanilla answers but he has god father N srinivasan protecting him , so he don't care. He can mumble and we have to listen to this loser. he is a loser for me. I know cricket is a team game. He was once great leader inspired his team to play. I think the reason indian team not playing well because they do not have any goals. 2015 long way to go. Its kinda leadership struggle. With dhoni taking credit for wins and blaming losses on their top order batsman , he pisses off the hands that feeds him win. Dhoni needs to be dropped completely from Test and T20. He is still good in ODI but i rather have complete new team under kohli getting prepared for 2015 world cup. With kohli given more selection option so he will be responsible if india loses early in 2015 world cup. I think its time to blood youngsters and drop sehwag , gambhir , yuvi, dhoni.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 16:52 GMT

In the 90s,when Sachin was out India was out.Probably even the man didn't expect same scenario coinciding his retirement.When is the IPL auction happening BTW?

POSTED BY
nahmedit
on | January 3, 2013, 16:55 GMT

I think India should quit Test and ODI and should play T20 only. T20 destroys India's Test and ODI performance. India could not stand against Pak in last 2 ODIs which is really sad. Very very bad performance from India after world cup.

POSTED BY
on | January 3, 2013, 16:59 GMT

WHoa Dhoni !!! Till when will we suffer this disappointing and disgusting batting failure leading to defeats in matches.What have sehwag ever done ? and why does he still get a chance at the expense of tremendous talent in form of rahane. We need responsible cricketers not some conglomerates who run their business aside in form of ads and IPLs.
And Why doesn't the selection committee take stern decisions ?

POSTED BY
Cricketfan08
on | January 3, 2013, 16:59 GMT

I think it is unjust to ciriticise the top order batsmen only for this loss. I think Dhoni totally unread the conditions. It was a bat first wicket as the curator also said. Only Dhoni thought that the condition for good for seam. I think he must have realised after 2 balls of the first over what a mess he has made after winning the toss. The ball wasn't swining and there were no "conditions to exploit". He gave the best condition batting pitch to the Pakistan opening pair and they made the most of it. The pitch started to deteriorate quickly in the second half of Pakistan innings and ball was getting harder to hit. India would have had to bat out of their skins to get 250 chasing (I said that at half time). Full credit to Pakistan for yet another clinical win. The T20s provided great competitive cricket. The ODIs (supposedly Pakistan's weakest form) have been totally one-sided.

POSTED BY
sss_m19
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

Dhoni telling the top order is failling again and again is not going to help anybody..u can do the changes..but u don't...

POSTED BY
Captainman
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

This team can't even dominate at home should play with associates like Ireland and Afghanistan who can probably beat India with ease at this moment, India are no match for our Pakistan team.

POSTED BY
NCP1
on | January 3, 2013, 17:01 GMT

Instead of complaining, Dhoni should bat up the order and make some changes in batting line up, include couple of young players and play positive cricket. Under Ganguly India always played positive one day games with Saurav and Sachin coming up front and later Sehwag. Coach is useless as the results have shown, India seem to be playing very defensive cricket and can't hope to win this way. Pakistan is playing positive cricket and the team look balanced and very strong, most likely 3-0 defeat for India.

POSTED BY
cric_follower
on | January 3, 2013, 17:06 GMT

Time for some changes. Time to try our young blood. Why are Pujara and Rahane there for.